One Hundred Themes: Star Wars
by Sarah Selene
Summary: In a universe where Palpatine fell to his death instead of Mace Windu, there are many stories untold. Each chapter is a theme, and the rating is subject to change. If you like this, please read the Introduction written by Volitan
1. Introduction

So I've decided once again to take on the suicidal approach of the 100 Themes. I've decided it to be Star Wars themed, and that each one will be in an alternate universe that a friend and I created. I do not own most (if not any) of the characters, I'm pretty sure George Lucas still has the rights to those. Each chapter will be a theme, and they may be short or long, we will see. Anyway, let's get too it.

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1. Introduction

It was a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

Anakin Skywalker stood up straight and looked down at the scruffy boy who stared at his feet. Anakin slowly crossed his arms, putting trust in his feelings. The boy, who appeared to be a teenager, was hungry and thin, but he felt no fear in him. His blue eyes looked around, checking the long sideways of Coruscant before he looked back at the boy. "Do you think it's wise," Anakin began, "to steal credit vouchers from a Jedi?"

The scruffy boy paused and he looked up at him. His brown eyes flashed a bit. "Didn't know you were a Jedi," he said with a shrug, "didn't see the 'saber."

Anakin nodded slowly, crossing his arms across his chest. "Do you know what you can get for trying to steal from a Jedi?"

The boy paused and he shook his head. "No, _sir_." Anakin looked at him, listening to the sarcastic remark, and knew the boy was lying.

Anakin nodded. "Well, it can get you a few days in a cell. How old are you?"

"…I'm 16." The boy said warily. He shifted back onto his back foot, wondering to himself if he could outrun the man standing in front of him. He thought he might be able too, but he could be wrong, and that could be a dangerous mistake.

"That's a lie." The Jedi said simply, "tell me your real age."

The boy let out a soft growl, that was almost undetectable, but he answered honestly. "I'm fourteen."

Anakin reached up and stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Do you have babysitting experience?"

The boy's eyes widened and he paused before he nodded "Yes sir, some…"

Anakin nodded "Good." He said, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder "Come with me." Anakin started walking back on a path to his apartment. "What is your name, boy?"

The boy's brown eyes looked up at him, before looking around seeing if there was anyone he could call for help. "Solo. Han Solo."

Anakin nodded "That's an interesting name." Anakin moved to the lift that would bring them up to the apartment. "Now, Han Solo, I'll make you a deal. I won't press charges on you if you babysit my two kids." Han's eyes widened and he shook his head, moving to change the direction on the lift, when Anakin's hand tightened. "You see, Han…The missus and I are going out for dinner, and I only had one responsibility, and that was to get a babysitter. I forgot. The Force has a way of making things right of course, and so I trust that you would take great care of my son and daughter. Because, you see, if you don't, I'm going to kill you."

Han paused and he swallowed hard, looking up at him. "How do you know I ain't going to steal something?"

Anakin chuckled "Go ahead. As long as it's not my children, everything you have access too can be replaced."

Han paused and he nodded. "…What will I get if I do a good job?"

Anakin raised an eyebrow and he looked down at him, pausing. "Well, you don't deserve for me to give you anything. If you insist though, then on top of _not_ pressing charges, I will give you some credits when we get back. As long as you don't take anything and my children have a good night."

Han smirked and looked up at him. "I thought you said I could steal if I wanted to."

Anakin shrugged a bit. "Sure, but if you want to get credits, nothing can be missing."

Han looked up at him and pondered that, looking as the doors of the lift opened. Two children were outside the lift, a little boy and a little girl. The little boy held what appeared to be the hilt of a lightsaber, running around the house making buzzing noises every time he swung it. The girl was sitting at a small table, with a toy nerf across from her. She was speaking quietly to it while she drew something on a piece of flimsy. Anakin smiled and he moved in, kneeling down and kissing the girl's forehead and then kissing the boy's head. He stood up as a rather beautiful woman walked in. Han felt the woman looked strangely familiar, like from the holonet or something. The woman looked directly at Han, and she tilted her head a bit before she asked, "Are you the babysitter?"

Han stared at her, feeling oddly silly all of a sudden, wishing he was wearing better clothes. He looked at Anakin before turning back to the woman and nodding. "Yes, I am."

Anakin moved over to the woman and kissed her forehead. "I told you I would find a babysitter."

She laughed and shook her head. "I never should have doubted you." She gave him a light kiss and took his hand and looked at the chrono on the wall. "We should be going."

Anakin nodded and he moved to the children. "Alright, you two, you be good for Mr. Solo, alright?"

The boy nodded with a large grin framing his face. "Of course, Daddy."

The little girl looked up at her father and she pouted, looking at the toy nerf that sat across from her, not saying anything.

Anakin looked at his daughter and he sighed softly. He moved over and kneeled next to her. "Hey, Princess…" he said softly to her, touching her cheek with his gloved right hand. "We'll be back in a few hours, you can be good until then, right?"

She stared at him before she nodded a bit, pulling away and looking back at the nerf.

Anakin sighed and he stood up, presenting his arm to his wife. His wife smiled and she moved over, taking his arm. "Play nice everyone." Anakin said as he walked out to the lift with his wife.

Han took a deep breath and looked at the children, not really sure what he was suppose to do with them. He looked down at the two kids. The boy had gone back to playing with his fake-lightsaber, but the girl was staring up at Han. He paused a bit and he moved over to the kitchen. If he was going to be there for a few hours, then he might as well get something to eat. He opened and closed a few cabinets, looking for something to eat, when something tugged at his pants. He turned and looked down, seeing a pair of large brown eyes staring at him. Han looked around quickly, wondering how a four year old could have snuck up on him, before looking down at the little girl. "Hi…" He said, pulling his leg from the small hand. "What do you want?"

The girl looked up at him and said in a very calm voice, "I want you to have tea with me and Ra-Na."

Han smirked and shook his head. "Sorry, kid, I don't _do_ tea." He turned back to the cabinet, when he heard a noise that brought a chill through his heart. He turned, and found that the four year old girl had somehow got onto the counter, and was pulling out viroblades from a drawer, turning them on, and then swinging them around. "Hey hey hey hey hey!" He grabbed the viroblade out of her hand. He placed the blade on the counter and looked at her. "How did you get up there?" He slipped his hands under her arms and he lifted her up, setting her on the floor. "Why did you do that?"

She shrugged. "I'm bored."

Han ran his fingers through his hair. "Fine, fine, I'll have tea with you just…gods, don't climb on counters!"

The girl grinned and she grabbed his hand. She pulled him back into the living room and waited until he sat next to the table before sitting in her own chair. "This is Ra-Na." She said, pointing to the toy nerf. "I'm Chancellor Pene Lopi, and you are Senator Fluffy Buttons."

Han raised an eyebrow at the little girl and he shook his head "Oh no. My name is Han Solo not Fluff-" Han looked around the room before he looked at her and said in his calmest voice, "Chancellor, where is your brother?"

She looked around the room with her brown eyes before she shrugged. "I don't know."

Han stood up, ignoring the girl's protests that they weren't done with tea yet. He moved out of the living room to look for the boy, realizing that he didn't actually know either of their names. He was pretty sure that little girl had made the name up for herself, and the boy had been so quiet. In his rush to figure out where the boy had gone, he didn't think to ask her what the boy's name might have been. He moved through the apartment and looked in all the rooms, until the only place he didn't check was down a flight of stairs. He moved down the stairs quickly and his eyes widened as he walked onto a veranda about the size of the apartment above, and saw the tow-headed boy sitting on the edge of it, swinging his feet as he swung his toy lightsaber around. Han swallowed hard. "Hey kid." The boy turned around and looked at him. Han moved over slowly. "Why don't you come away from the edge?"

"Why?" the boy asked.

"Because it's dangerous to be on the edge like that."

"Why?"

"Because you could fall…"

"Why?"

"Because there's no railing."

"Why?"

"You know what, I don't know why your parents didn't put a railing around this veranda."

The boy paused, thought this over, and then asked, "Why?"

"Damn it kid if I-"

Solo was interrupted by a very loud voice screaming, "Luke Skywalker!" Han and Luke both turned to see Luke's sister standing at the bottom of the stairs. She continued, "Get away from there! You know we're not allowed here and you're interrupting my tea party!"

Luke paused and stared at his sister before he slowly backed up from the edge and he stood up. "Alright, I'm coming." He said before jogging to the stairs.

The girl sniffled and she wiped her eyes on her sleeve "You poodoo…"

Luke stuck his tongue out at his sister before going up stairs, earning a similar expression to be darted towards her as she wiped her eyes some more. Han's expression softened now that the imminent danger was avoided. He moved over to the girl and he kneeled down. "Hey… Chancellor's don't cry…" He slipped his hands under her armpits and lifted her up, pulling her close to his chest. "Why don't we get some tea?"

She sniffled again and nodded "Okay, Senator Fluffy Buttons."

Han chuckled lightly and brought her back upstairs.

Anakin walked back into his apartment with Padme a few hours later, kissing her cheek lightly and walking off. He looked around and was rather surprised not to see his kids in there, refusing to go to sleep or otherwise terrorizing the babysitter. He walked through the apartment while his wife slipped into something more comfortable, and stepped into his children's bedroom. The scene before him shocked him more than the initial inability to find them. Inside Luke was fast asleep in his bed, and Leia was snuggled up close to Han Solo, the data pad in the young thief's hands apparently containing a children's story. Anakin listened in as Han read, "And the littlest Bantha, after his very long day, fell right to sleep in his bed of hay…" Anakin watched as Han looked down at Leia, and carefully moved, laying her down in the bed and standing up as Leia curled around her nerf toy. Han smiled and moved to the door when he seemed to see Anakin for the first time. "Oh, you're back," He said softly so he wouldn't wake up the sleeping children, "Did you have a nice night?"

Anakin looked at the boy and he nodded answering with the same softness, "Yes, we had a good time…were the kids alright?"

Han nodded. "Yeah…they were kind of troublesome at first, but then things calmed down and everything was great after that."

Anakin nodded and looked at the two children. "Well…I didn't see anything missing so I guess you earned this." Anakin reached into his pocket in his robes and handed some credit vouchers over to Han.

Han took the money and thanked him. Anakin asked if he wanted to be walked out, but the teenager told him he knew where the door was and watched as Anakin went off to see where his wife had gone to. Han paused before he turned back to look at the twins. He moved over to Leia and kneeled down next to her bed, kissing her head. "Goodnight, Chancellor Lopi." He whispered, standing up and then walked out of the room and then out of the apartment.

Leia opened one eye as Han walked out and whispered. "Goodnight, Senator Fluffy Buttons…" before she fell asleep herself.


	2. Love

2. Love

Luke Skywalker, an adorable six year old boy, ran into his apartment, followed by his father, Anakin Skywalker. Luke had his practice lightsaber out and he wore a grin from ear to ear. He heard something about being careful from his dad, but he was not sure exactly what he had said. He ignored him and rushed into his room before he bounced on the bed. Leia looked up from her bed, across the way from his, raising an eyebrow. Luke grinned and he turned on the practice 'saber. "Guess what?" Luke asked, though answered before she got the chance to speak, "I got my practice saber today!"

Leia grinned and she sat up, turning off the data pad in front of her. "Good job, Lukey!" She grinned and moved over to him, hugging him tight.

Luke grinned and hugged his sister back. When they released from their hold, Leia went back to her bed and laid down in it. Luke was silent for several moments, bouncing on the bed. "I figured out what I'm going to do when I become a Jedi." He watched as his sister turned and looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "I'm going to find the prettiest girl in the universe, and I'm going to marry her and protect her for the rest of my life!"

Leia rolled her eyes a bit and turned back to The Littlest Bantha on her data pad. "That's stupid Luke."

Luke's eyes widened and he shook his head. "No it's not! Why would you say that?"

Leia shook her head, turning her head back towards him, pressing a button on her data pad. "Because Jedi can't fall in love. It's against the rules."

Luke's eyes widened even more and he leapt off of his bed. "Nuh-uh, you're lying to me! Mommy and Daddy are in love, and Daddy's a Jedi."

Leia sighed and looked at the data pad. "They're special. Daddy wasn't suppose to fall in love."

Luke stared in disbelief for a while before he turned and ran out of the room. He quickly rushed into the kitchen, where Padme was helping their protocol droid, See-Threepio, get dinner ready. Luke moved quickly to his mother, ignoring the droid's greeting. He took a handful of the complicated dress she wore, and tugged on it lightly. "Mommy?"

Padme looked at him, putting the vibroblade down on the counter before she smiled, turned, and knelt down to him. She set one hand on his shoulder and the other on his cheek. She looked into his disbelieving face and asked softly, "What is it Luke?"

Luke looked at his mother with concerned blue eyes, making Padme think that perhaps Leia had been teasing him again, when he finally said, "Mommy…can Jedis really not fall in love?"

Padme paused and she looked at Threepio. "Threepio, do you think you can do dinner by yourself?" She waited for his affirmation before she lifted up her son and went to the living room. "What is this about, Luke?" She sat down on the comfortable couch, setting her son next to her, letting him snuggle into her side.

Luke nuzzled his face into her side before he could even think about talking, but then he turned his head and said, "I told Leia that I wanted to find the prettiest girl in the galaxy, but she told me Jedis can't fall in love, and I don't believe her."

Padme reached a hand up and stroked his bright blonde hair, briefly thinking on how it would probably get darker as he got older, but wished it could stay that blonde forever. She thought it over in her mind before she said, "Well…your sister isn't exactly correct…" Padme paused, stroking her son's head again. She suddenly wished she could just hand him off to Anakin, have him explain this all to him. At the same time she didn't want to hand over her son and treat him like a pawn in some odd parental game. Padme paused a bit and she said simply, "It's not exactly that Jedis aren't allowed to love…" She leaned back a bit, thinking this over. "Jedis have to care for things. Jedis just…aren't allowed to let it get it get in the way. They can love, but they aren't allowed to become attached."

Luke paused and he looked up at her. "But…Daddy is attached to us…he loves us right?"

Padme laughed and she kissed his head. "Of course he does. Your dad took a big risk to be with me…and a bigger risk to be here right now…he's rather lucky that the council decided to have him stay a Jedi."

Luke bit his lip a bit and he looked at her. "So…what do I do?"

Padme smiled and she scratched his head. "Luke, you're six. You will have plenty of time to find someone you love…and to figure out what you're going to do about it when you do."

Luke nodded a bit and he snuggled close. "You're right mommy…if she's as pretty as you, I think I would take the risk."

His mother smiled and she nodded. "I have to help Threepio with dinner. Do you want to come with me?"

Luke grinned and nodded, before hopping off of the couch and moving to the kitchen, followed by his mother, where they happily made dinner together.


	3. Light

3. Light

Obi-wan Kenobi sat in his sparse apartment, in a chair by the table, staring outside to the city that moved busily below him. He stroked his bearded chin gently, lost in thought when the door chimes went off. He turned and searched with his feelings before a wide smile hit his lips. "Come in, Anakin," he called, standing and moving away from the window.

Anakin chuckled from the other side of door, and then palmed the door pad, stepping in after it had slid open. "Hello, Master," he told the man with the graying hair in front of him. He looked at the smile on his old master's face, and then into those blue-grey eyes before he said, "what's wrong?"

Obi-wan looked at him and he shook his head. "Nothing's wrong." He turned to go to his kitchen. "Would you like some Jawa juice?"

Anakin shook his head "No, but thank you…" He strolled into the apartment, always finding it a great shock to come from his apartment, which was always pleasantly decorated by his wife, to Obi-wan's, which had no hint of personalization anywhere. He moved to the windows and looked down at the busy sidewalk that his old friend had just been observing before turning back to his old master, who now stood in the kitchen doorway, drinking some Jawa juice. "You're lying to me, Master. I can sense it."

Obi-wan looked at him and smirked, hiding it behind the cup he held in his hand. "I am not lying… there is really nothing wrong. I've just…been thinking…" Obi-wan moved over to the table, and sat down at it, indicating that Anakin should sit with him.

Anakin sat down and folded his hands and his legs. "Thinking about what, Obi-wan?"

The older Jedi paused and his eyes slowly turned towards the window again, stroking his bearded chin again before he gave a deep sigh. "It's not important, Anakin…" Anakin stayed silent, and Obi-wan could feel his eyes on him, waiting for him to continue. He knew how hard this was on Anakin, who was always rash and bull-headed. He always wanted to rush into a situation, and it didn't change when it came to conversations. Obi-wan figured that Padme was a good influence on Anakin. Obi-wan took a deep breath and he set his hand on his cup, spinning it gently. "…I've just been thinking about decisions I have made in my past. How things would be different if I had made different choices."

Anakin did his best to mimic his wife's solemn nod. "And what decisions would that be, Master?" Anakin asked inquisitively.

Obi-wan raised an eyebrow and looked at Anakin, feeling a bit wary of that nod. "Just people that I have met in my life…people that I have brushed off against my will…is Padme listening right now?"

Anakin laughed lightly, shaking his head. "No, she's not. I just have kids now, and I'm trying to learn to be more understanding."

Obi-wan nodded slowly and he took a deep breath. "I see…"

Anakin leaned back against the chair, and this time he took his time to think. Finally, he said, "Are you talking about one Duchess Satine?" Obi-wan bit his lip a bit and he looked back out the window, giving Anakin the answer that he needed. Anakin nodded a bit. "Obi-wan, you did what you thought you had to do…"

Obi-wan took a deep breath and he nodded. "I know." He paused, his eyes glazing over a bit as his mind thought back to his past. He then shook his head and he stood up. He quickly picked up the cup and he moved over to the kitchen, putting the cup in the sink and staring at the wall for a bit before he moved back. He paused as he saw Anakin standing in the doorway, smirking and crossing his arms.

"When was the last time you saw her?"

Obi-wan stared at him, shifting cautiously before answering, "It's been…at least seven years…"

Anakin nodded, his smirk turning into a wide grin. "Then let's go see her!" Anakin turned, his robe swinging out as he walked to the door.

Obi-wan's jaw dropped a bit before he moved over. "Wait! Anakin…now?"

Anakin turned and looked at him, looking away as he thought a bit and then nodded. "Yeah. Now."

Obi-wan ran his fingers through his hair before he shook his head. "No. We're not going _now_. "

Anakin paused, his hand on the door pad. Anakin thought for a few minutes before he said in a slow voice. "Master, we're going now. If you don't come with me, I will tell Duchess Satine what a coward you are. I'll even bring Leia with me to tell her, and you know that no one can call Leia a liar."

Obi-wan stared at him, chewing on his lip a bit while he considered this option. "Fine…" He moved over to him, trying to ignore the giant grin on Anakin's face as he opened the door and moved out. They took the speeder to a hangar, and went inside Anakin's small two-person star-ship, which quite honestly paled in comparison to the Padme's gleaming customized H-Type Nubian Yacht. Obi-wan kind of wished they were taking that instead of Anakin's, which was a ship that had been modified so many times, that it no longer held the name that it did when it was new and Anakin had bought cheaply even though he could have afforded more, because he really just needed a project, not a good space-worthy ship, but it would be fine. He walked onto the ship, and slipped into the co-pilot's seat, looking at Anakin who was already preparing for launch. Obi-wan shook his head a bit and he looked out the front view port as Anakin took off from Coruscant and he put them in hyper space. "I have a bad feeling about this…"

It took half a day in hyper drive, and when they finally came out of hyper space, Obi-wan looked over at him. "You know, we can still turn around…" Obi-wan bit his lip and looked at Mandalore in the view port.

Anakin shook his head, exasperated. "No, we can't. I already called Padme, and got the whole 'Anakin, you're a father of two children, you can't go flying around the universe whenever you want' speech. We really can't go back now."

Obi-wan chuckled softly and he shook his head. "That was a pretty good Padme impression."

"Thank you."

Obi-wan took another deep breath, and watched as Mandalore got closer with each passing moment. They came in and had a very smooth landing, and Obi-wan stood up. Anakin stood with him, and patted his arm. "Hey." Anakin said, waiting until Obi-wan looked over at him. "You're going to be okay."

Obi-wan nodded and he walked off of the cruiser. He reached out with his feelings, and he moved towards the home of Satine Kryze. He was greeted by guards, and he explained his business, and introduced Anakin. The guard looked at the warily and moved over to a comm., speaking with the person on the other end. The guard moved back over and told them that she was busy, but they could wait in the sitting room. He led them in, and indicated to the chairs. Obi-wan nodded and thanked the guard before sitting down in the chair, looking towards Anakin as he sat down as well. After several moments of silence Obi-wan finally said, "I want to go home."

Anakin raised an eyebrow and looked over at Obi-wan. "Do you now?" Anakin shook his head. "Well, that would be rather rude…" Anakin looked over at Obi-wan, who was now giving him a confused look. "Well," Anakin continued, "if you leave now, then Satine would know you were here, but then you left without saying anything." Anakin looked over and laughed at the glare that Obi-wan was giving him. "Remember, Obi-wan, let go of your anger."

Obi-wan rolled his eyes. "Whoever said that didn't have you as a Padawan."

Anakin laughed again, shaking his head. "I'm not your Padawan anymore, Obi-wan."

Obi-wan shrugged. "I wouldn't know."

As Anakin was about to say something rather reproachful, the doors on the other side of the room opened. Obi-wan swallowed hard and he stood up, looking at the door as Satine walked into the room. Obi-wan took a deep breath as he looked her over. In seven years, she certainly looked different. She had aged a bit, there were some wrinkles on her face, cleverly hidden with makeup. She looked just as beautiful as she always had though, and there was a light that radiated her and accentuated her every feature, it took his breath away all over again. He didn't even really hear what Satine said, until she raised an eyebrow and Anakin elbowed him hard in the ribs. Obi-wan coughed a bit and he looked at her. "I'm sorry, Duchess, could you please repeat what you were saying?" Obi-wan carefully kept his emotions in check, making sure they didn't grab hold of him again like they had before.

Satine looked him over, and Obi-wan had trouble reading her. He was suddenly reminded why he disliked politicians. She nodded and repeated herself, "I asked what you are doing here, Master Jedi."

Anakin looked between Obi-wan and Satine, before stepping forward and saying in his most charming voice, "We're here on a personal visit, Duchess. Master Obi-wan would like to ask you something."

Obi-wan's eyes widened and he cast a quick glance at Anakin, wondering what in Kessel was wrong with him. He felt Satine's eyes rest on him again and he paused a bit, looking at her and wondered just what it was he was suppose to ask. He felt a soft force-push on his arms, and knew immediately who it had come from. He wanted to shoot a glare at his old padawan, but he was terribly aware how Satine was watching him, waiting for him to ask his question. Obi-wan paused a bit and he looked at her, taking a deep breath. He drew up all of his courage, because fighting with Dooku had been easier than this, and found the words that he desperately needed. Slowly, at least, it sounded slowly to him, he asked her, "Would you like to have dinner with me?" His voice had caught on the first word, but luckily for him all the words following had come out calm and smooth.

Satine watched him for a few moments, seeming to weigh the pros and cons in her mind. Her pause was so long, Obi-wan immediately started to second guess his words, maybe he shouldn't have asked her. Then those blue eyes were upon him again, and he felt a familiar tightness in his chest, seeming to see the light behind those eyes grow. She formed her words carefully and asked, "Would seven work for you?"

Obi-wan's jaw dropped a bit, though he closed it quickly and he nodded. "Yes, of course, seven is fine."

Satine nodded and she turned, keeping her head turned to look at him. "Good. I will see you tonight then." She then turned her head to look forward and walked out, flanked by guards.

Obi-wan let out a huge sigh of relief, and stumbled a bit as his shoulder was patted by Anakin. "See?" Anakin said, "That wasn't so bad."

Obi-wan looked at him and he scoffed softly. "Anakin, you and I are going to need to talk about what is difficult in this universe and what is not." Obi-wan let a smile hit his lips though as Anakin laughed and together they walked out of the home, getting ready for Obi-wan's date that night. Obi-wan smiled softly to himself and he looked at Anakin. "I have a good feeling about this."


	4. Dark

4. Dark

Anakin walked down the streets of Coruscant, watching as speeders flew by. He had just returned from Mandalore, having left his old master there. Obi-wan had told him that he and Satine needed to "catch-up". Anakin was pretty sure that "catching up" involved a lot of clothing removal, and it took all of Anakin's Jedi training to get _that_ thought out of his head. He smiled softly, though, as he thought of his darling wife, who was probably going to murder him as soon as he got home for leaving for Mandalore without warning. She would forgive though, and as soon as she did that, Anakin was sure he would do some "catching up" of his own. He grinned to himself, and started planning something _really_ romantic for when his wife got home that night. His planning, however, got interrupted by a soft ripple in the Force. Before he understood why he was doing it, he quickly dodged to the left. Where he had been standing, a male sentient's body fell, creating a dent in the permacrete. Anakin moved over to him, and identified the body as a male Twi'Lek, who had been very pale, and rather bulbous. Anakin looked up at the building he had been standing next to, and he spotted the broken window several stories above him. He looked around at the gathering people, and pushed through them, entering the building, and rushed up the stairs. He went through his memory, and judged where the room would be. He paused when he got to the right floor, though, realizing that he probably didn't need to try to remember. In front of him, the room he knew to be the one with the broken window had an open door and strong winds whipped through it. The wind moved around a little girl, who stood in the middle of the almost empty room. Anakin moved cautiously into the room and looked at the little girl, kneeling next to her. Her wild red hair whipped behind her giving him a good view of her face, which was battered and bruised. Her green eyes showed her anger, though one was practically swollen shut. Her clothes were ripped and torn, and appeared to not have been washed in a very long time. When he closed his eyes he could feel the anger radiating off her, dark and very powerful. He slowly opened his eyes and noticed that she still didn't know he was there. She was focused on the broken window, her hands slowly clenching and unclenching. Anakin slowly took a deep breath and he set his hand on her shoulder. She jumped, whirling around to look at him. Anakin made sure she didn't escape his grip. "Hello," he said softly to her, trying to keep her calm, "did you push that sentient out the window?"

The girl's green eyes widened at him before she looked at the door, gauging her chances of escape. She looked back at the man who just shook his head. She took a deep breath and said quietly. "He was hurting me…I started feeling really angry…and then…" She shoved her hands out to him before she bit her lip. "Then he was falling."

Anakin looked at her and could feel the anger melting away from her and turning into fear and guilt. He took a slow, deep breath. He knew what it was like to do something out of anger. He looked away for a moment then looked back at her saying softly, "It's alright. You did what you thought you had to in order to protect yourself." He stood up slowly and looked around the room, weighing his options as to what to do with the girl. He took his portable comm. unit and he moved to the other side of the room. He kept his eyes on her in case she decided to run. He called the Council and explained what had happened, and asked them if they would be willing to do an assessment. He told them he would be over later before he cut off communications. He moved over to the little girl, whose eyes watched him the entire time. He paused for a moment as he looked at her. He just realized that she was about the same age as his own kids, and he couldn't imagine beating a child to that degree. He held his hand out to her and asked, "Would you please come with me? My name is Anakin Skywalker, by the way."

The girl looked at him and she took his hand "My name is Mara-Jade". They walked out of the building, passing the group of sentients that had gathered. She walked in silence for several moments before slowly looking up at the Jedi who walked next to her. "What are you going to do with me?"

Anakin looked down at her as the question was asked and he chuckled lightly. "'Do' with you? Nothing. Right now, we're going to my apartment. After that, I hope that you will accompany me to visit the Jedi Council, so that we they assess you."

Mara raised an eyebrow and looked up at him. "Assess?"

Anakin paused, not sure if she was asking what the word meant or what kind of assessment he was talking about. He answered, "To assess is like to test, figure out if you're good at something or not. The assessment will see if you're strong with the Force."

"Oh." She didn't ask any more questions, however. Anakin looked down at her, curious about her lack of curiosity. He took another deep breath and decided not to prod questions out of her that didn't want to be asked. He was sure that she would ask questions if she had them. They walked together in silence until they reached the apartment building.

Anakin glanced down at the girl as they stepped into the lift. She didn't look back at him. He was honestly a bit surprised when she didn't seem in awe of the building, but this was Coruscant after all, maybe she had been to a building like this before. Her eyes widened exponentially when the lift doors opened, however, and she let go of his hand to move into the living room. Anakin smiled softly as he watched her before moving himself out of the lift. "This way," he said, walking down the hallway.

Mara-Jade moved to him and tugged on his sleeve. She waited until he looked down at her to say, "You didn't tell me you were rich."

The Jedi's answer was nothing more than a chuckle. He moved into the refresher and started the shower. He turned to her and asked, "If I bring the soaps down, can you take a shower by yourself?" The little girl nodded, and with a nod Anakin reached in and put the soaps on the bottom shelf so that they were within her reach. He looked back at her. "Alright, I'm going to get you some clothes." He watched her nod. "I'll come back when I have clothes for you." He turned and walked out. He quickly moved to his children's room, and took a glance at the two closets in the room. His first reaction was to go to Leia's, but after thinking about it he figured that perhaps Luke's would fit her better. He didn't want her wearing clothes that were too small for her in front of the council after all. He moved over to his son's closet and pulled out a tan tunic and a pair of off-white pants from their depths. He looked the clothes over with a cursory glance and judged them to be about the right size. He draped the clothes over his arm and turned, stepped out of the children's bedroom, and listened for the shower. When he heard that it was still running, he moved down the hall and called, "Threepio!"

The gold protocol droid stuck his head out from Padme's office where he had been cleaning. "Yes, Master Anakin?" the droid called back before shuffling his body over to his creator.

Anakin nodded to him. "We have a guest using the shower right now. What could you make quickly for her to eat?"

The droid paused a moment, turning his head a bit as his mechanical brain composed a list of everything edible in the kitchen. "There is some left over nerf steak from last night's dinner, would that do?"

Anakin nodded "That would be perfect, thank you, Threepio."

The droid nodded back to him before shuffling off. Anakin was about to set the clothes down and go get Leia's brush when a small voice said, "Mr. Skywalker?" Anakin looked over to the 'fresher and saw Mara-Jade standing outside the door, wrapped in a towel, and he could see the shower still running. "I can't figure out how to turn off the shower," she said, and the defeat in her voice nearly broke Anakin's heart.

"It's okay," he told her gently. He moved into the refresher and reached into the shower. "I can turn it off." He reached with the hand that didn't have the clothes on them and he turned off the shower. He turned and looked at the red-head before kneeling down. "Here you go. Don't get back into those ragged clothes you were wearing before."

Mara nodded and took the clothes from him. "Thank you," she whispered. She waited until he left before getting into the next clothes.

Anakin waited for her outside before he looked down at the opening door and the girl who walked out of it. He smiled quite proudly. "Looks like I picked clothes that fit." Mara nodded and tugged a bit on the tunic nervously. Anakin took a deep breath. "Are you hungry, Mara?"

Mara looked up at him and gave a slight nod. She followed Anakin into the kitchen, and let him pick her up and set her on the tall stool. She nodded a promise when he asked her not to fall off from the stool and then looked up as a gold droid moved over and set a plate of reheated nerf steak in front of her. Her ears listened as the droid introduced himself as "See-Threepio" but her eyes, nose, and mouth were firmly glued to the steak. Anakin watched her and informed her that, yes, she could eat. Her green eyes looked at him warily before she looked back at the steak. She picked up the utensils carefully and methodically cut her first bite of the steak. She took another quick glance at the Jedi before she used her utensils to stab the cut piece and put it in her mouth. "Mmm…" was all that she could get out as the taste of the steak filled her mouth. It was a bit dry, from being reheated, but it was the best thing she had eaten in quite a while. She chewed it slowly, enjoying the taste of the juices before she swallowed the bite. She paused for several moments, seeing if the steak would make her feel sick. As soon as she determined to herself that the steak was safe, she took the utensils and began scarfing the food down eagerly.

Anakin chuckled softly as he watched the young girl. He took this moment to stand and walk out, moving to the living room and grabbing his daughter's hair brush. "She won't mind," he muttered to himself before walking back into the kitchen. He moved over and carefully put the brush on her head. She paused a bit when she felt the brush in her hair, but she calmed down and let him continue. Anakin slowly brushed her hair and then said, "I brush my daughter's hair a lot."

Mara paused and she looked back at him without turning her head. "You have kids?"

Anakin nodded. "Yes, I've got a son and a daughter. They're about your age."

Mara looked down at her food, swinging her feet a bit. "Can I meet them sometime?"

Anakin chuckled softly and he nodded. "Of course." He ran the brush through her hair a final time before setting it down. "Are you done eating?" She nodded and he nodded after her. "Alright, then we should go." He smiled to her, and then lifted her up and set her on the floor. She looked up at him, and though she still had a black eye, and her skin was a bit battered, she looked ten times better then when he found her. "Are you ready?" Mara nodded and he smiled. He held his hand out to her and they walked out of the apartment together before walking to the Jedi Temple.

Here Mara-Jade stood in awe of one of the oldest buildings on Coruscant. She stared up at the five spires, and her mouth sat somewhat agape. She felt severely intimidated and she pulled her hand out from his. "I don't want to go in."

Anakin paused and looked at her. "What? Why not?"

Mara shook her head. "I can't go in…they won't like me…"

Anakin took a moment to think before he kneeled down in front of her. "You might be right." He put a hand on her shoulder. "They might not like you, but if they do like you, you could have a good life. You want a good life, don't you?"

Mara-Jade looked at him, and bit her little lip before she nodded slowly. Anakin smiled softly and he stood up, holding his hand out to her again. She took his hand again and they began walking. Once they were inside, Mara was more intimidated then she had been outside. The ceiling was high above them, and the columns made her feel incredibly small. She kept a close eye on where they were going as Anakin walked through, just in case she would have to leave the building quickly. She didn't sense that these people wanted to hurt her, but she had been wrong before. He lead her into a room where there were very important looking sentients sitting in a partial circle in rather comfortable looking chairs. A bald human male looked up and he looked down at Mara-Jade. "Is this the girl?" the man asked, looking at the man who had found her earlier.

Anakin nodded and grinned, about to say something smart. Mara noted that the human male gave him a sharp glance which caused Anakin to wipe the grin from his face. A short green alien looked at them and he glanced over Mara. "Come here, would you?" the sentient with the long green ears said, gesturing her with one three-fingered hand. Mara swallowed hard and she moved forward, looking around the semi-circle. The green alien raised an eyebrow as he looked down at her. "Nervous, are you?" Mara nodded and the alien shook his head. "Don't be…ask some questions, we will."

Mara nodded a bit. The bald human asked Anakin to leave, and once he did the assessment began. They asked her to guess what was on a hidden screen, and to lift small objects and make them hover in the air. At one point, a Kel Dor male moved over and pricked her finger, taking a small sample of her blood and analyzing it. After a few more tests, they also excused her. She stood next to Anakin outside, bouncing lightly on her toes. Anakin looked at her and chuckled, setting his hand on her head, causing her bouncing to stop. After a few moment of excruciating waiting, they asked them to both come inside. The bald human took a deep breath and he looked at them. "We've made our decision."

Anakin nodded and he set his hand on the girl's head again. "And what have you decided?"

The small green sentient shook his head. "Jedi apprentice, she cannot be."

Anakin paused, his eyes widening. "What? Why not? Did she not pass the tests?"

The green sentient sighed softly. "Passed the tests, yes. Dark, her future is…angry, hateful, and painful."

Anakin took a deep breath and he looked down at Mara. "Maybe her future doesn't have to be like that." Anakin looked around at the members of the council, and he smiled lightly at the thought of his old master, whose master had been in a very similar situation years ago. "You were worried about my future as well, and I stand here now as a Jedi, couldn't she have the same fate?"

Mara watched as the short sentient raised an eyebrow towards the Jedi at her side. "Suggestion, do you?"

Anakin took a deep breath. He couldn't remember the last time he had taken that many deep breaths. "I'll train her," was his answer. "Just give her a room here, and I'll take care of the rest. I'll train her, and if it turns out I'm wrong…" Anakin paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "I'll deal with it."

The green sentient thought for several moments before he nodded. "Fine compromise, that is. Make arrangements for her immediately, we will."

Anakin nodded and he walked out of the room with the little girl. He knelt in front of her and looked into her eyes. "You're going to stay here, alright? They'll give you a room with a bed, and they'll give you food as well. I'll be here tomorrow to start your training." Mara nodded, absorbing all the information. Anakin smiled softly and he said, "I think that you should take tonight to get settled, but would you like to come to my apartment for dinner tomorrow night? You can meet my children." Mara's eyes widened a bit, and she nodded excitedly. "Good." His smile brightened considerably. "I'm going to go now, my family will be home soon…I'll leave you with Mace Windu, he's the human who probably asked you those questions, he'll take good care of you today. Will you be alright?"

Mara looked around before she nodded. "Yes, I think I'll be alright."

"Good." Anakin stood and he led her over to the Jedi master who was leaving the Council Chamber. He passed Mara off to him, and said his goodbyes to her. As she walked off with Windu, he reached out with the Force to sense her. The darkness that he had felt surrounding her earlier had completely disappeared, and Anakin made a vow right then that it was going to stay that way.


	5. Seeking Solace

5. Seeking Solace

Padme Amidala Skywalker sat on the chair in her bedroom, folding her hands in her lap. She listened as she heard her kids screaming in the other room, followed by Threepio trying to get them to calm down. She had been taking care of the children since she had gotten home from work, and finally she had to pass them off to Threepio again. The senate was in shambles after the Palpatine incident. A new Chancellor had been elected, but he was incompetent and no matter what he did to fix things, it seemed like he just broke more things. Padme leaned back in the chair and she looked out the window of the room and she took a deep breath. She felt like her life was being ruled chaos, it was chaos at work followed by chaos at home. She wanted to be the strong one, the strong woman, the strong politician, and the strong mother. She wanted to be a good role model for her daughter. The problem was that at that moment, she felt like none of those things. Padme took a deep breath and she wiped the tears that had started emerging in her eyes and she knew she had to pull herself together. She stood up, and moved into the adjoined refresher and she wiped her eyes and looked at herself in the mirror, talking the sadness and helplessness down.

She looked behind her as she heard the lift doors open and close, and the sounds of her squeeling children welcoming their father home. She listened as they talked, and then as Anakin moved towards the room. She bit her lip and wiped her eyes a second time, put on a smile, and walked out of the 'fresher just as Anakin walked into the room. "Decided to leave the twins with Threepio, Padme?" Anakin teased her softly before he moved over to her, kissing her lips.

Padme smiled and she kissed him back, putting her hands on his shoulders. "I just needed a break."

Anakin nodded, smiling brightly towards her. "I understand, Padme. You don't need to explain." He slipped his hands onto her shoulders, rubbing her shoulders with his thumbs. "You deserve a break every now and then." He pulled away, and he turned, taking off his robes and hanging them in his closet. "Oh…" He turned to her again and smiled softly. "The Council is sending me on another mission. I have to track down an alleged slavery ring on Coruscant."

An irrational panic spread through Padme's body before she could explain why or try to control it. "What?" she asked, her eyes wide, and her hands quickly moving up to her mouth.

Anakin moved over quickly when the panic showed on her face and he touched her arms. "Hey…Padme, it's alright. I'll be back before you know it. I'll even make sure I stay safe."

Padme bit her lip as irrational panic became an equally irrational anger. She pulled away from him, turned around, and threw her arms in the air. "Well that's just great, isn't it?" she asked, her voice almost visibly dripping with sarcasm. "You get to tromp around the galaxy while _I_ get to stay here and-"

In the middle of her tirade, the door to their bedroom opened, and the seven-year-old Leia popped her head in saying, "Mommy? Luke's…"

Padme rubbed her forehead, saying with exasperated tones, "Not now, Leia…"

"But…Mommy, Luke's going to…"

"Leia." Padme turned to her daughter. "I said not now."

"But…he's…"

"Leia!" Padme snapped, looking at the little girl "Not now!"

Leia's eyes widened and she quickly closed the door and ran off. Padme immediately regretted yelling at her, but she turned back to her husband, who had a concerned look on his face. He cautiously moved over to his wife and he touched her face. "Padme…what's going on?"

Padme bit her lip, and she took a deep breath. She tried to stay angry, like she felt like she deserved to be. Her husband still acted like he was a boy at times, leaving without say anything, leaving her alone with the children, plus he seemed to have trouble picking up his clothes from the refresher floor after his showers. The concern in his eyes and the soft touch on her face, especially after yelling at not only him but their daughter, was wearing down the walls of anger she had erected without even trying. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. "I just feel so tired, Ani…" She whispered softly, not trusting her voice to speak louder. "The new Supreme Chancellor is an absolute idiot…I watch the children for longer and longer periods of time…Anakin, if I have to read 'The Littlest Bantha' one my time I think I'll lose it!"

Anakin stroked his wife's cheek and then teased gently, "I think you already have." He sobered up quickly as Padme sent a glare in his direction. Anakin took a deep breath and looked into those entrancing brown eyes. "I'll contact the Council. I'll tell them to send someone else…" He pulled away from her and moved to her closet, where he pulled out a suitcase. "In the mean time, you pack."

Padme raised an eyebrow. "Pack? Pack for what?"

Anakin turned to her with a raised eyebrow before he smirked. "A vacation, obviously." He moved over to her closet, and threw her dresses onto the suitcase haphazardly.

Padme raised an eyebrow and moved over to the suitcase, carefully removing her dresses and folding them, setting them next to the suitcase. "A vacation? Now? Where would we even go?"

Anakin turned to her and threw another of her dresses into the suitcase. "Of course now, and I was thinking Naboo. The lake house." He moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist as she folded another dress. "I'll call Obi-wan, get him to watch the kids…you and me will go to the lake, cuddle in the grass, have quiet nights together…" He gentle kissed her neck and whispered in her ear, "The quiet part is optional."

Padme shivered lightly at the kiss on her neck. "Ani…" she said softly, "I can't just get up and go…I have too many responsibilities with the Senate right now…"

Anakin paused and he dropped her arms from her waist. "Then just call someone to cover for you."

Padme turned and looked up at him. "Alright…I'll call Bail…" She slipped away from him and she turned, kissing him softly. She turned again towards the door and walked out of their shared room. She froze as soon as she stepped out, and stared at the scene in front of her. Luke had one of his blankets wrapped around one of the ceiling lamps, which he was tangled in, hanging upside down. One of Threepio's arms was on the couch, his body was in the kitchen, picking up bowls and placing them on the top of its trunk, where the droid's head should have been, and the droid's head was on top of the kaffe table, calling its body all kinds of names. Leia sat calmly on the couch next to the golden arm, doing her homework on the data pad on her lap. Padme stood in shock for several more minutes before she shouted "What in the mines of Kessel is going on?"

As Padme moved to take the seven-year-old boy down, Leia looked up from her homework and said calmly, "I tried to warn you."

Padme let out an exasperated breath, but did not reply to her daughter's remark. She finally untangled Luke and caught him before he fell to the floor. She slowly righted her son and looked at him sternly. "Luke Skywalker, what did you think you were doing?"

Luke turned his blue eyes up to his mother, but kept his head low, knowing he was in trouble. He said slowly and softly, "I was practicing using the Force…Daddy takes apart Threepio all the time…and I wanted to see what using the Force upside down was like…"

Padme let out a deep sigh. "Luke, your father takes See-Threepio apart for repairs and upgrades. You know that…"

Luke interrupted, still keeping his head low, "But he's a droid! It doesn't hurt him!"

Padme sighed again. "Luke, please don't interrupt." She stood up straight and stretched her back a bit. "And just because he's a droid doesn't mean you can't hurt him. What if you pulled an important piece out or you could have smashed his head into something." She reached up and grabbed the blanket, trying to untangle the blanket from the lamp. "And I am shocked that this light held your weight…" She let out yet another sigh, this one of relief, when the blanket fluttered from, no visible damage to the blanket or the light. "You could have fallen and gotten hurt or worse…"

Luke watched his mother and sighed. "I'm sorry, Mommy. I didn't mean to upset you…"

Padme looked down at him and she stroked his head. "I know, Luke." She turned and walked into the children's room, putting the blanket back on Luke's bed. When she left the room she could hear Threepio thanking her husband profusely. She moved into the kitchen, looking at her husband as he plugged Threepio's arm back into the correct socket. Anakin checked his creation over before telling the droid he would be fine. Once again the droid thanked him profusely before he waddled off to do some of his duties. When Anakin turned to Padme, she told him simply, "A vacation sounds wonderful…"

Anakin smiled softly and moved over to her before wrapping his arms around her. "Are you sure? What about your responsibilities?"

Padme moved close and laid her head on his chest. "I'll call the Chancellor and tell him that I'm taking a break."

Anakin nodded and kissed her forehead. "Alright. I'll call Obi-wan, you call the Senate, and I'll go get your cruiser ready."

Padme nodded and watched as Anakin went to the comm. unit. She went into her room and she picked up the folded dressed from the bed before slipping the dresses into the suitcase. Afterwards she moved to Anakin's closet and packed him a few sets of clothes before closing and securing the suitcase. She waited until she heard Anakin leave before she moved to the comm. unit and called the Supreme Chancellor to tell her about her impromptu vacation, and she listened to him complain for several moments before she just hung up on him. She moved into the bedroom, greeted Obi-wan at the door, and moved to the hangar where the Nubian Cruiser was waiting for her. She got into the cruiser and sat in the cozy co-pilots seat. "To Naboo!" she cried out, leaning back and covering her eyes with her arm.

Her only hope was that this would be a relaxing vacation.

Padme luckily did enjoy her vacation. She had a wonderful time with her husband the entire week they were there. They did everything that Anakin had promised and then some. Padme had been relaxed, happy, and feeling more awake then she had in weeks. Of course, all good things must come to an end. On the last day of the vacation, the Chancellor had contacted her, telling her that there was going to be an emergency meeting at the Senate. Anakin did the math, and figured out that if they left right away, they would land on Coruscant some point between "You'll have plenty of time" and "You'll be an hour late." So Padme had packed their bags, and the two of them left for Coruscant.

On the cruiser, Anakin tried his best to cheer his wife up, trying to get her back into the mood that she had been in on the vacation, but it was like someone had flicked a switch somewhere in her, and suddenly she was quiet and apathetic. Anakin eventually gave up, and went back to the cockpit. Padme watched as Anakin went back, and she took a deep breath before standing up. She missed the moments when she loved her job, when doing what she did meant something. She moved to her suitcase and opened it, pulling out a data pad. "I guess I don't have a lot of options…" she muttered to herself, before sitting down and writing her resignation on the pad.

When they landed, Padme had exactly twenty minutes to get to the Senate. Anakin assured Padme that he would take the suitcase home, and they would go out for a romantic dinner after the meeting. Padme smiled softly and she kissed him. "Thank you…" she said softly and watched as he grabbed the bag and headed home. She took a deep breath and walked to the senate building, and stepped inside with a good ten minutes to get to her balcony and get settled. She smiled and stepped onto balcony, turning to the Gungan who wore formal robes and a warm smile. "Hello, Jar Jar. How was your visit to Naboo?"

Jar Jar grinned and he nodded to her, giving her a hug that wrapped her up in large sleeves. "Mesa had good trip. Gottsa lot done, gottsa see lottsa people!" He clapped a bit after Padme pulled away. "Bossa Nass saids to say hi to Mee-sus Padme." Jar Jar's smile faltered a bit and his expression turned into a look of concern. "Somethings wrong, Padme?"

Padme took a deep breath and looked up at her friend. "Yes, of course. Everything's fine." She looked up at Jar Jar, who gave her a disbelieving look, and was uncharacteristically quiet. Padme bit her lip and she turned to the front of the balcony. "I'm going to resign from the Senate."

Jar Jar's eyes widened. "What!" he yelled, and then got quiet very quickly as he realized other senators were looking over at them. "Yousa can't do that! Yousa the best senator Naboo could ask for! Yousa can't quit!"

Padme lowered her head a bit. "Jar Jar, I don't feel like I'm doing anything anymore…" She ran her hands over her brown curls as she took a deep breath. "When I started this I knew that I was doing it for the betterment Naboo, but since this new Chancellor was elected…" She paused. "My children drive me up a wall…" she started and looked at Jar Jar, "but I feel like I do better work with my children then I do at the Senate."

The meeting was called to order, and Jar Jar swallowed hard. He shifted a bit, knowing he was suppose to be silent but he couldn't help himself as he leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Mesa thinksa yousa the best senator in entire Senate."

Padme looked up at Jar Jar and she gave him a light smile. She was appreciative of his words, and knew he was being sincere, but the words sounded flat in her ears. She looked up as the Chancellor called to order, and called for Tramal, representative of Ryloth, to come lead the meeting. Padme wasn't sure what she thought of Tramal. She had known a few of the representatives from Ryloth, and they had been either fat, power hungry, pompous male Twi'Leks, or conniving ex-slave female Twi'leks. Tramal was neither of those things. He was a young, muscular male, who was quite handsome under human standards. His blue skin shimmered a bit under the light as his balcony floated up to the center of the area. To his left and right were two female Twi'Leks, one a rare red and the other a more common green. Padme felt at a loss for their names though. Tramal gave a bright, warm smile before he took a deep breath and went into his speech, "Representatives of the galaxy." He gestured to the entirety of the Senate with both of his hands. "I know you are here today curious, wondering why I have called an emergency meeting." He took a pause here, seeming to gather his thoughts, his lekku twitching a bit as he thought. "Ever since Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's untimely death, the Senate has been in absolute chaos. It has been understandable, the former chancellor left a lot that needed to be cleaned up. This man, on the other hand…" He indicated behind him. "Is an absolute, without a doubt, idiot. How you let him be chancellor for six and a half years is far beyond my understanding." The speech continued, giving examples and reasons behind Tramal's claim. The other senators were getting excited and they started yelling their agreements as Tramal spoke. Tramal had a wide grin on his face when he continued, "That is why, my fellow Sentients, that we go through with a vote of No Confidence against our chancellor!." The chambers exploded with noise as everyone agreed. Padme stood silently by, and admitted to herself that the Twi'lek was highly charismatic.

The chancellor, a white haired politician who cared more about his bottom line then politics, shook his head in disgust. "Senator Tramal, what you're suggesting is absolutely ludicrous."

Tramal turned to look at the chancellor before he raised his hands and shrugged. "I would agree, Chancellor, if the rest of the senate didn't agree with me, which I'm afraid they do." He turned and he smiled "I believe," he spoke, addressing the crowd again, "that I already have the right person in mind. I have researched this subject quite thoroughly, and that I believe the person who is perfect for filling in this soon to be vacant seat is-"

Padme looked at Jar Jar and quietly whispered to him, "It's probably going to be him. He appears self-centered enough."

"Senator Padme Amidala of Naboo."

Padme froze and turned back to look at Tramal. The entire hall had erupted in cheers again, and she quietly moved to the balcony's control pad and hovered to the center of the area once the chancellor asked her do. "Senator Tramal…" she began, looking at the odd Twi'lek, "This is…quite a surprise."

Tramal grinned at her and he shook his head. "The crowd loves you," he said, knowing now that only she and Jar Jar could hear him. "Your politics are clear, you seem to do well under stress, and you like organization. There is no one better for the position. That is, there is no one better if you choose to accept the position."

Padme stared at the Twi'lek for a moment before she looked at the Supreme Chancellor, who was obviously a bit miffed at this odd situation. She thought to herself, her thoughts leading to how she would be doing something good again, and not just for Naboo, but for the entire galaxy. It would be more work, more responsibility, but that thought did nothing to sudden feeling of appropriateness that filled her. Suddenly her job didn't seem so numbing or terrible. She thought onto the resignation letter stored on the data pad, and she figured that if she needed to, it could be her way out, but she may as well try it. She nodded to Tramal, accepting the nomination. The charismatic smile appeared on Tramal's lips and he swelled a bit with happiness. Padme had a feeling she would be working with this sentient often. The chancellor asked for other nominations, and decided that the voting would happen the next day, and that that would be the last thing he would do as Supreme Chancellor of the Republic. Padme brought the balcony back to its dock, and laughed as Jar Jar congratulated her repeatedly in a way that only he seemed capable of. There had been other nominations, but it was quite clear to everyone who was going to win in the following day's elections. Padme walked home, filled with happiness and joy, and for the first time in quite a long time, she did not dread going to work the next day.


	6. Break Away

6. Break Away

Leia Skywalker, seven years old, was on her bed reading her favorite book. Many people thought that her favorite book was "The Littlest Bantha" but in truth her favorite book was "Renn Jalom; Adventures through the Galaxy" a story of a boy from Corellia who was a bit older than herself who traveled through the galaxy, as the name implied. It was her first chapter book that wasn't one of those wimpy little stories where the chapters were perhaps a page long. No, this book was a bigger kid's book, and Leia loved that very much. This was the third time she was reading through it, and she was getting to her favorite part where Renn was about to tell Princess Xialon how he felt about her. She felt that this part took far too long though. She didn't understand why, if they liked each other, they wouldn't just tell each other. Her reading was interrupted though when she listened to the door chimes ring. She set the data pad down and she walked out of her room. "I've got it!" Leia yelled, ignoring her mother's warning to be careful when opening the lift. Leia, who was short for her age, had to get on her toes to hit the door pad. As soon as the door to the lift whooshed open, a wide smile hit Leia's lips before she ran to the man in the lift and wrapped her arms around him "Hello, Senator Bail!"

The tan man chuckled and he patted her head, not able to kneel down to hug her back with her holding his legs. "Hello, Leia. Are your parents home? I have something important to discuss with them."

Leia pulled away and looked at Bail Organa before a wide grin stretched across her face. "Important Senate stuff? Can I sit in with you? Can I take notes?"

Bail laughed lightly and he shook his head. "I'm sorry, Leia, not this time. We have important adult stuff we must discuss."

The grin on Leia's face fell and she rolled her eyes. "Of course…" She sighed and she walked into the waiting room. "I'll go get Mom and Dad…"

Bail's eyes softened and he took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Leia…"

Leia shook her head, going to her parent's room and knocking on the door. She waited outside the door for her father to open it. Anakin smiled and he kneeled down to her. "Hello there, Leia," he said softly to her, "what do you need?"

Leia looked at him and she smiled at her father before she hugged him. "Mr. Organa is here. He wants to talk with you and Mommy about big important adult stuff."

Anakin chuckled before he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up into his arms. "That's adult code for 'Boring'." He explained to her and spun her around. Leia squealed and she grabbed his neck, burying her face into his shoulder as she spun. Anakin set her down and called to his wife, who said she would be there in a second. Anakin patted her head and he smiled towards her. "Alright, Leia, why don't you go read in your room? I'll come get you when the adult talk is done."

Leia sighed and she nodded. "Alright…" She turned and walked away from her father before she walked back to her room and slipped inside. Of course, she didn't feel like reading anymore, not while her parents were talking about adult things. She knew that her father had said that it would be boring, but it didn't stop her from being extremely curious. She wondered briefly if Luke had been home if that would help her curiosity, but she eventually decided that no, chances were that he would just make it worse. She looked around the room, and decided the best thing she could do right then was do her hair. She moved to her small child-sized vanity and sat down, bringing her long hair down from the two braided buns on the back of her head. She reached out for her hair brush and, starting from the bottom, carefully brushed all of the tangles out of her hair, just like how her mom showed her. She then took small piece of hair, and slowly braided it. Once she got to the end, she braided two more and then braided all of those together. She moved to keep braiding small braids, when the apartment physically shook and she heard her father ask "What?"

Leia paused, and held her hand up to the hair she was about to braid, and suddenly her curiosity tripled in mere seconds. She bounced a bit on the balls of her feet, and went over the pros and cons of eavesdropping on their big-important-adult stuff. They probably wouldn't be _too_ mad if they caught her, and could they really blame her? Her dad was shaking the apartment, after all, who could blame her for being curious? Her thought process felt like it took hours, but in real life it all happened in less than a few seconds. She moved over to the door and slowly opened it. She snuck out, and moved over to the door, listening and focusing on Bail's voice before she pressed herself against the hallway next to the entry way to the living room. She couldn't see them from that angle, but she didn't mind because that reduced her chances of being seen. Bail was the first one to talk, "I understand you're angry, but I'm only suggesting it because I think it is a good opportunity for her."

Leia listened as she heard her father sigh. "Yes, I understand that, it doesn't change my feelings about it."

There was a pause and she listened as Bail took a slow, deep breath. "Anakin, if there was another way to do it, I would tell you. The issue is that what is she going to do, represent Coruscant? Surely Padme has told you what _that_ is like…She could represent Naboo, but it's doubtful that she'll get very far in politics, no offense Padme."

"No offense taken, Bail, I know my election was a one in a million chance." Leia smiled at the sound of her mother's voice, it was soft, playful, and yet always serious.

Leia heard another deep breath, and then Bail continuing, "This is an option that could give her a bright future. She can spend time on Alderaan, be immersed in philosophy and culture. I'll even pay for her to go to the university."

"Bail," her father started, "I'll remind you that when you walked into my apartment, you assured me you wouldn't talk me into anything."

"Maybe we should ask her what she thinks about all this." Padme said before Bail could start talking again.

The moments of seconds ticked on like hours in little Leia's mind, silently wondering if she should go back to her room. The sound of her father's voice finally broke the silence. "Padme, she's seven. Is she really old enough for a decision like this?"

"If it involves her future, then yes, yes she is."

There was another moment of silence, broken only by the sound of her father turning and taking steps towards the hallway. Leia thought of running, running back to her room, but her legs wouldn't move, they stayed frozen underneath her. She listened as his footsteps got closer, and closer, until suddenly he was in the entry way, looking down at her. "Leia?"

Leia looked up at him and bit her lip before she slowly pushed against the wall and stood on her own two feet again. "Hi Daddy…" She said, making her eyes look as big as possible. It was a trick that always worked on her father.

Anakin looked at her solemnly, and she immediately turned off the baby-eyes. She could feel something in the Force, something that loomed and made her feel uneasy. Whatever they adults had been talking about, her dad didn't like it. Anakin gave her a smile that Leia knew was forced and he said, "Hi, Princess." She watched as he twitched though he tried to hide it. "Want to come with us to talk about the big-important-adult stuff?"

Leia paused and looked up at him before looking into the entry way of the living room before looking up at him. "I thought I was too young…"

Anakin shook his head. "No, of course not. This involves you." He held his right hand out to her and waited until Leia took it. She felt the servos moving through the glove as he gave her hand a light squeeze. With his daughter in tow, Anakin walked into the living room, and let go of her hand once they were close enough to the other people in the room.

Leia took glances at her mother, who was sitting on the couch, appearing to be in a similar mood as her father, torn and not sure what to do. Her mother scared her more right then. Her father was playful and reckless, he didn't always know what to do and Leia knew that, but her mother was never torn, she knew always knew exactly what to do, no matter the situation, except now. Bail appeared to also feel a bit upset at the situation, though Leia guessed that it had to do more with how he made the other adults feel then whatever it was that they had been talking about. A genuine smile spread across Bail's features when he caught site of Leia, and he stood from the chair he had been sitting in. "Hello again, Leia," he greeted, indicating to the seat, "Would you like to sit down?"

Leia shook her head, keeping her eyes on the senator. "What's going on?" she finally asked, not liking the silence in the room at all.

Padme looked over at her daughter from the couch, and patted the spot next to her. Leia bit her lip, really not wanting to sit down, but she ran over to her mother and sprang onto the couch anyway, snuggling close to the older woman as an arm was draped around her body. The comforting gesture put Leia at a bit of ease, but she still didn't like all of the quiet. "Senator Organa has come with a proposition, Leia. It's quite a nice one."

Leia looked up at her and tilted her head a bit. "What's 'proposition'?"

Padme paused and she stroked her head a bit, freeing the lone braids on Leia's head. "A proposition is like…a plan, or an idea." Leia nodded, and so Padme continued, "Bail and his wife, Breha, don't have any children. The next in line is Breha's nephew." Leia set her head on her mother's chest, listening to her words both in the air and reverberating through her body, but it didn't help Leia understand what any of this had to do with her. "Bail would like to officially adopt you…" Padme had to take a pause here to gather herself. "So that you would be princess of Alderaan."

Leia's head shot up from her mother and her brown eyes grew about as big as Threepio's head. She opened her mouth to say something, but words failed her in that moment. She knew what the word 'adopt' meant, one of her best friends at school was adopted, and many younglings at the Jedi Temple were 'adopted' more or less by council members. She had never, on the other hand, heard of being adopted when the child's parents were still alive and capable of taking care of the child. On one hand, Leia didn't want to lose her family; on the other hand what seven year old _didn't_ want to be a princess. Bail watched as Leia's understanding of the situation bloomed in her head before he said, "Padme and Anakin would still be your parents, Leia. You wouldn't lose them." He moved to the couch and kneeled in front of it so that he could look Leia in the eye. "They would still care for you when you're on Coruscant, and you can still go with them to Naboo on vacations…but this is a very big opportunity for you, Leia. You would come visit Alderaan frequently, and I would help teach you politics and philosophy."

Philosophy was another word that Leia didn't really understand the meaning to. She held her tongue though, now wasn't the time to ask it. She looked around the room at her parents and then back at Bail asking, "why me?"

Bail paused and looked at her, placing his arms on his knees and folding his hands. "Why you, instead of the billions of other little girls in the world?" Leia nodded and Bail took a deep breath. "Breha and I considered that. We had wanted to adopt a little girl before you were born. Then of course, you were born. I've been watching you grow up, and I've been interviewing other girls with my wife. None of them have the same kind of potential as you do. I want to give you a chance at great success, and I think that you would one day make a wonderful queen." Leia's face felt hot, and she suddenly realized she was blushing. Bail smiled a bit and he slowly stood up. "I understand that this is a big decision, we can give you time to think about it if you want."

"I want to do it." Leia's words caused both of her parents to twist their heads to look at her; apparently both shocked that she would come to a decision that quickly. Leia looked up at them and she began to explain before they could ask, "I want to be a politician. I know that's what I want to do. I know I would spend less time with you two, but you would still be my parents." She smiled up at them. "Besides, Luke gets special training, why shouldn't I?"

Padme looked down at her daughter and she stroked her hair. "And you're sure about this?" She asked her daughter.

Leia looked up at her and nodded "Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

Anakin took a deep breath and he looked at Bail. Anakin took a moment before he spoke, "Fine, we'll do it. But I have a request to make."

Bail turned and stood up, looking at the Jedi Master before asking, "And what would that be?"

Anakin crossed his arms over his chest and said, "She keeps her last name."

Bail paused a moment and he nodded. "How about a hyphenated name? Leia Skywalker-Organa."

Anakin took a moment to think it over before he turned to his daughter. "I can accept that. What do you think, Princess?"

Leia looked up and a wide grin spread across her face. "I love it," she said, before standing up, moving over, and hugging her father.

Bail smiled and nodded. "Alright, I'll get the adoption papers written up tomorrow and we can make this official. I'll see all of you later." Padme stood up, and gave Bail a goodbye hug before he walked into the lift and out of the building.

Leia looked at her parents. "I'm going to finish doing my hair," she said before she moved over to her room, needing to re-brush her hair and then began to do the small braids all over again. She had just brought all of the medium-sized braids into one braid when she suddenly had the thought that she was going to be a princess. Princess Leia Skywalker-Organa. People far and wide were going to think she was a great politician, and the people of Alderaan were going to love her, she just knew it.

Luke came home right as Leia was securing the long braid that went down her back, and hugged her tight. He excitedly told her about the day he had, how Master Yoda had sparred bare-handed with an armed Mace Windu to show the younglings some fighting techniques in case they ever lost their lightsabers, and how Mara-Jade had totally creamed a male youngling who was making fun of her freckles. Mara-Jade of course had been reprimanded by Obi-wan, telling her that that wasn't how we fixed our problems, but Luke swore he saw Obi-wan slip her a candy when he thought no one was looking. Luke finally wound the story of the day and looked at her. Taking a moment to catch his breath he asked, "So…what did you do today?"

Leia looked at her brother, gnawed on her lip before she moved over, hugged him, and then broke away from him. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She said with a grin before she turned and walked out.

Luke paused as he watched her walk out. "Wait…what's the supposed to mean?" He moved to the door. "Leia! Leia what did you do?" He then chased after his sister so that he could quench his curiosity.


	7. Heaven

7. Heaven

Mara Jade, the seven year old ball of fire, knelt in a shadowy corner of the Jedi Temple and she pressed close to the wall. The only thing she could hear was the beating of her heart, and the ragged breathing in her chest. She tried her best to calm down, but found it particularly difficult to do so. In her short life she had never felt a bigger thrill. She held her breath as she heard a sound other than herself. She closed her eyes, focusing on the noise she heard, biting her lip as she did and…yes; yes it was her prey, walking down the corridor. He was talking to someone; she could hear their voice as well. She reached out with the force, and felt for the two walking down the corridor. Her prey was walking a bit ahead of the other, which was good, in fact, it was perfect. Mara opened those green eyes and she looked at the entrance way, timing her attack perfectly. A hand flashed from the entrance way, and Mara leapt up before pushing herself off the wall and tackling the eight year old Luke Skywalker as he walked through the entrance.

Luke yelled out as he fell, not expecting to be tackled. When he hit the floor he didn't stop moving. Mara rolled Luke onto his stomach and grabbed his arms, pulling them behind his back. As she held his wrists Luke started laughing. "Alright!" He yelled at her, though he never stopped laughing, "Alright, you got me Mara!"

Mara grinned and she let go of Luke's hands, getting up only enough so he could roll onto his back, though as soon as he got into that position she was sitting on him again, making sure he couldn't get up. Mara felt her heart beat fast again, and she wasn't sure if it was because of the excitement of the fight, or something else. Luke looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Mara, you alright?"

Mara nodded quickly and she got off of him. "Of course! I'm great!" She said with a grin. "I was just practicing a new technique. I think it works, don't you?"

"Mara Jade, what do you think you're doing?" Mara looked over and saw Luke's companion come down the hall, and realized that it was Master Windu himself who had spoken. Mara moved to help Luke up before she gave the dark skinned human a bow.

"I was practicing, Master Windu," she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper now.

Mace looked down at her with his stern gaze and looked at Luke. "Continue on to Master Yoda, Skywalker." Luke nodded and he walked off quickly, going to see the master. Mace Windu took a deep breath and he looked down at Mara. "Your skills are getting better every day."

Mara Jade turned her green eyes up to him and she nodded "Thank you, Master Windu." She shifted nervously from one foot to the other. Being in the presence of any of the council members always made her feel nervous, as if they were always judging her and waiting for her to do something wrong. Mara felt like she did the wrong thing most of the time, so it made her feel that much more uncomfortable to be around them.

The Jedi Master took a deep breath and he kneeled down in front of her. "I can sense you are uncomfortable, Mara Jade. Is something bothering you?"

Mara shook her head, her red hair flying everywhere around her. "No, of course not, Master. I'm fine…" She paused, and just for good measure tacked onto the end, "Master."

Mace looked down at her and his normally stern facial features softened. Slowly he stood up and he nodded down to her. "Come with me." He said, turning and walking out of the hallway to walk down another one.

Mara Jade bit her lip as Windu walked off, but she followed after him. It generally wasn't a good idea to say no to a Jedi Master, no matter how intimidating he was. She moved quickly at first, catching up with him quickly before falling into step next to the Jedi master. Mace walked with Mara Jade to one of the many meditation rooms throughout the temple. He looked down at the redhead then nodded to the cushioned seat. Mara hesitated, even though her instincts told her everything was okay, her memory told her to bolt out of the room and run as far as she could. She moved to the chair and sat in the seat, crossing her legs as she was taught to do. Mace took a deep breath and he kneeled down in front of her. "You're intimidated by me." It wasn't a request or a question, just one simple statement that came out of his mouth.

Mara's eyes widened. She knew what he said was true but now that she heard him say it she suddenly felt embarrassed by the thought. "I'm sorry, Master," she said, giving a bow from her sitting position.

Master Windu shook his head, placing his hand on her shoulders and gently pushing her back up to a sitting position. "You do not need to apologize, Mara Jade. I know that people find me intimidating." Mara watched him curiously as he shifted his weight back, and then changed his position so that he was sitting in front of her, crossing his own legs. "You shouldn't be afraid of me, however. I have no intentions of hurting you. If you are afraid of me then it would be harder for me to gain your trust. You know that trust is important, right Mara Jade?"

Mara swallowed hard and nodded. Mace reached out, moving his hand past the left side of her face. He paused a moment when she flinched but then continued going, moving his fingers behind her left ear. She thought she felt something else brush against her ear when Mace pulled his hand back. Mara's eyes widened when she realized that in his hand, which she was sure had been empty before moving behind her ear, was a credit voucher. Mara felt her jaw drop before she reached out and took the voucher when it was offered to her. "How did you do that?" she asked, her voice in complete awe.

A rare smile hit the Jedi Master's lips right before he shook his head. "It's a secret." He watched as she frowned, her nose scrunching a bit at the thought of this magical trick being a secret. He chuckled, another rare incident and told her, "I'll tell you later." Mace set his elbows on his knees and presented his hands to her, palms up. "I want to try something. It shouldn't hurt."

Mara looked at the two large hands, tucking the credit voucher into a small pocket on the inside of her tunic. She knew he wanted her to put her hands into his, but she wasn't exactly sure why he wanted that. "…What do you want to try, Master Windu?"

Mace looked at her and she could tell that he was considering lying to her, but instead he shook his head and told her the truth. "There is a rare ability that many Jedi can do subconsciously. What's rare about this ability is that some Jedi can do at will. It's the ability to catch glimpses of the future. It's never a hundred percent clear, but it can help find the right path when the way is unclear."

Mara looked at him and took a long paused. "Is that why you asked me to come here?" She asked him. "You want to test to see if I have this ability?"

Mace was, for a moment, struck by the maturity in her voice. He took a moment and he nodded. "Yes, Anakin asked me to test you. Luke passed the test, and he wants to see if you will as well."

Mara took a deep breath. Luke had passed, which meant that if she didn't pass the test, Luke would have something to lord over her. Pride led to the dark side, but it didn't stop younglings from comparing what they could do with one another and choosing who the "best" of the younglings was. It wasn't easy being a youngling. Her green eyes looked at the Jedi master sitting in front of her and she slipped her hands into his, closing her eyes. "Just tell me what I have to do."

Mace watched her for a few minutes before his hands closed around hers. Closing his own eyes he instructed, "I want you to relax, pretend like this is any other meditation session." He heard her breathing slow, followed by her body going into a more relaxed state. He took a moment, letting her get as comfortable as possible, before he sent is Force energy through her hands.

Mara fought the urge to gasp when she felt a strong energy go through her hands, over her arms, and into her core. She was strong with the Force, she had been told by Anakin Skywalker many times, but this kind of Force was different, one she knew she would obtain only after years of training. She got herself to relax again, concentrating on this strong energy in her chest, imagining it to be a ball of light that was lighting her entire body. She truly believed if she opened her eyes at that moment that she would see her hands and arms glowing with energy. She would have been disappointed however. The light side of the Force didn't need fancy tricks like that. Taking slow, deep breaths, she felt her concentration on the energy become a subconscious move, and she knew she could stop concentrating so hard on it. She let it flow through her, and knew that the Jedi Master would show her what she needed to do. After a few more deep breaths, Mace spoke again, "Mara Jade? What do you see?"

Mara paused when he asked the question, confused by its meaning, before she said, "I don't see anything it's just…bright."

Mace paused a moment and then asked, "Do you feel any different?"

Another pause, and then Mara said, "Yes…yes I feel something…"

Mace nodded, though Mara couldn't see it. "What is it that you feel?"

"Love," she said simply. "I think. It's all warm and happy…I'm not sure if I like it or not…"

Mace felt her shift uncomfortably on the chair and he sighed, pulling his hands away from her. Mara opened her eyes as soon as the connection was broken, her green eyes staring at the Jedi Master across from her. Mace shook his head "I don't think you have the ability," he told her simply before he stood up.

Mara paused and she got out of the chair to stand up with him. "But…but I saw the future didn't I?"

Mace shook his head. "No, you felt it. And it sounds like you felt a very good future, but nonetheless you did not actually see it."

Mara took a moment and then she nodded her understanding. "I see…"

Mace looked at her before he turned, walking out, listening to Mara's footsteps as she followed. "What do you think you felt, Mara-Jade?"

Mara looked up at him, confused by his question until her mind unraveled its meaning and she shook her head. "I guess…I guess it felt like Heaven."

Mace looked down at her and raised an eyebrow. "Heaven?"

Mara nodded. "It's what the older kids called it, at the bad house. It's a story the older kids told us younger kids when one of us got hurt or…" Her voice trailed off and she closed her mouth.

Mace's face softened again and he nodded. "And Heaven is a good place?"

Mara Jade looked up at him and she nodded. "Yes, it's a warm place where you go when you die, and no one is mean to you or treats you badly." She took a moment to pause and she looked up at Mace. "Am I going to die, Master Windu?"

The Master Jedi looked down at her and he nodded. "Eventually everyone dies, youngling." He looked forward again, seeing Anakin Skywalker down the hall. "If you're worried that your vision of the future was showing you that you're going to die _soon_ I wouldn't be too worried."

Mara noticed the Jedi who had saved her two years ago, but she wasn't ready to end the conversation yet. She moved forward quickly and she stepped in front of Mace Windu. "Then…what was it?"

Mace took a moment to look down at her before he shook his head. "Only time will tell, Mara-Jade." He put a hand on the flaming red crown of hair. "Now…you should go train with Anakin, don't you think?"

Her green eyes looked up at him before she bit her lip and nodded. "Alright…" She said, still wanting to know more about that she had felt in the meditation room, but knowing she wouldn't get any answers from the Jedi Master. She turned and she ran off to Anakin Skywalker, giving him a bright smile.

Anakin looked down at her and he smiled. "Hello, Mara. How was your day?"

Mara nodded, watching as he turned and started walking towards the training hall. She moved in step with him before she said "It was alright. I managed to sneak up on Luke today."

Anakin smiled down at her and he nodded. "Good job." He patted her head lightly. Mara and Luke competed like this quite frequently, and Anakin knew that he should probably stop them from doing it before someone got hurt. He couldn't help himself, however, but feel pride every time one of the two younglings got the better of the other. His argument was that whenever one of them got the better of the other, it meant that they were learning to either plan or improvise wisely and it was a very good skill to have. "Did you do anything else today?"

Mara looked up at Anakin and she took a moment to pause before she nodded a bit. Anakin looked down at her and raised an eyebrow, opening his mouth to ask what, but Mara spoke instead, "I got to look into the future."

Anakin looked forward again and nodded slowly. "And what did you see?" he asked.

Mara took another moment to pause, thinking in her seven year old brain the best way to phrase what she had felt to him before she gave a small shrug. "Heaven, and I'm looking forward to it."

Anakin smiled and he nodded before looking down at her. "Well, Ms. Heaven, why don't we go do some training exercises?"

A wide smile spread across Mara's face and she nodded before she ran off to the training hall. Anakin laughed as he watched her run off, before putting himself in a light run to catch up with her.


	8. Innocence

8. Innocence

Anakin leaned against the door way of his children's room, his right hand on the door and his left laying by his side. Both Leia and Luke were sleeping in their beds, Leia wrapped around her precious Ra-Na and Luke spread out like a mynock. This was the first time in weeks that Anakin could look in on both his children from the doorway. The previous week Leia had been on Alderaan, and the week before that Yoda had wanted Luke to do some overnight training at the temple. It seemed to Anakin that one of his children was always somewhere in the galaxy, and while Anakin was very proud of both of them, it didn't change the fact that he wished he could spend more time with the two of them. They both looked do innocent there, sleeping in their individual beds, and he knew that innocence wouldn't last forever no matter how hard he tried. He jumped a bit, taken out of his thoughts when a pair of arms snaked around his chest, and he felt his wife's narrow chin rest on his shoulder. "Hello, Padme…" he said softly to her, careful not to wake up the children. He turned a bit, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her to him.

Padme smiled and she lay her head on her husband's chest, now also looking at the children. "You know, Ani," Padme said equally softly, "you don't need to watch them every night…they're not going to disappear."

Anakin took a deep breath and he nodded. "Yes they will. Every second they're a little older, a little more mature. They grow up second by second…"

Padme took a deep breath and she nodded. "But you can't stop time."

Anakin's left hand squeezed her left shoulder as he felt a band around his chest tense. No, he couldn't stop time. He knew he couldn't. He wished he could sometimes, however, especially when his children showed any signs that they were growing up. He wanted to make the time last as long as it possibly could, it was hard being proud and being sad at the same time. "I know," he said finally, "I like watching them though, they look so sweet and innocent."

Padme gave a light chuckle. "Yes. Can you remember being that innocent?"

Anakin tried to stay relaxed but he knew once Padme began to pull away that he had stiffened. He took a deep breath and said simply, "I was never that innocent."

Padme touched his arm and she nodded a bit. "Anakin, I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

Anakin turned and took both of her arms in his hands, giving them a comforting squeeze and kissing her forehead. "It's fine, Padme, don't worry." He closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around her chest. He felt her take a deep breath against his chest and he gave the top of her head another kiss. She said something into his chest and he slowly pulled away, setting his hands on her shoulders. "What?"

Padme's brown eyes looked down. "I forget sometimes…"

A light smile appeared on Anakin's face and he touched her cheek with his left hand, watching her as she leaned her head into his touch. "I don't talk about it a lot, Padme," he said softly, keeping his voice soft so that she would know that he wasn't upset. "I don't expect you to remember all the time. I don't expect you to censor yourself around me, and I certainly don't expect you to stop reminiscing about your wonderful childhood just because I was a slave." He ran his fingers through her brown hair that was loose around her shoulders. "My childhood wasn't horrible, I had a wonderful mother…" He paused for a moment, Padme's brown eyes were watching him, looking at the pain of memories in his eyes. Anakin took a deep breath and he continued, "and there were worse slave owners in the galaxy…" He softly kissed between her eyes. "And now I have a wonderful life, with two wonderful children and a wonderful wife. It doesn't matter what happened in the past."

Padme looked her husband in the eye and gave a soft smile and a nod. "Alright…" She watched as he slowly pulled away from her and closed the door to Leia and Luke's room before he moved and went into the kitchen. "We'll need to figure out the room situation," She called after him, walking into the kitchen just in time to see him turn around and look at her confused.

"What do you mean?" he asked her, moving over to the cooling unit and pulling out some leftovers before going to heat them up.

"Leia and Luke won't be able to share a room forever, Ani." Padme leaned against the counter, propping her elbows on the counter. "Eventually they'll get older, and they'll become self-conscious, and they'll want privacy."

Anakin paused, putting the leftovers onto the counter and getting a fork. "I guess you're right. I hadn't really thought of that. I don't like thinking about them…growing up."

Padme gave a soft smile and she nodded. "We don't need to figure it out now, we've still got some time where they can share a room…" Anakin nodded and he began to eat silently. Padme shifted a bit and she looked at him. Talking to a crowd of senators was easy compared to conversations about their children's futures. Anakin was just so stubborn sometimes when it came to the children's future. She understood where it came from, that it was normal that he wouldn't want to let them go, but at the same time they were things that needed to be discussed. "It's been a while since we've visited Owen and Beru," she finally said, needing to change the subject.

Anakin looked at her, pulling the fork out of his mouth and swallowing the bite he had taken off of it. "That's true…there's a reason for that…"

Padme shrugged a bit, pulling her elbows off the counter so that she could cross her arms. "I like Beru, and Owen isn't always that bad…"

Anakin let out a sigh and he shook his head a bit. "And they're on Tatooine…"

Padme paused a moment and she nodded. "Yes, they're on Tatooine…it's hot, it's sandy…but we shouldn't let that be a reason that they don't get to see their niece and nephew. Besides, it will probably be good for them, seeing planets that aren't large cities like Coruscant, or temperate like Alderaan and Naboo."

Anakin paused and he looked at the empty container of food in front of them. "I'll call them tomorrow; see when they'll be available."

Padme gave a bright smile and she nodded, moving over to him. "Besides, Anakin, think about it…we could leave Leia and Luke with their aunt and uncle, and we could get some time to ourselves." She leaned up and left kisses on his cheek and ran them down his neck.

Anakin chuckled and he tilted his head as her lips found his neck. "Mm…that's true, but do we really trust Owen alone with the kids?"

Padme laughed lightly and stopped her kisses, wrapping her arms around him. "Mm…Beru will be there to join him. She's a good babysitter."

Anakin gave another soft chuckle and he looked at her. "Mm…" he kissed her forehead. "Alright." He stroked her arm softly. "I'll make sure I call them tomorrow."

Padme smiled and nodded, leaning up and kissing him softly before stroking some sauce off of his chin. "I'm going to go to bed. Are you going to join me soon?"

Anakin nodded slightly and he ran his fingers through her brown curls again. "Yes. I just need to do some work on Threepio; I'll go to bed right after that."

Padme's smile widened. "Alright." She said goodnight to him before going to their bedroom and got ready for bed. Anakin watched her leave and took a deep breath. He picked up the container that had once contained leftovers before he went into the work room where Threepio powered down for the night. He sat down in the chair before the droid and stared at his golden plate for several moments before he dragged his hand down his face, leaning back in the chair. Threepio did need some work done, but Anakin wasn't really in the mood to do it. His mind kept drifting off in one direction or another. He thought about his mother, he thought about his kids, he wondered what kind of people his children would grow up to be. He knew he would know eventually, but he was in an odd state where he wasn't sure he wanted to know. He wanted to know who they would be, and what they would become, at the same time he didn't want to see them grow up. His hand moved over his face again. If he knew that being a parent would have so many conflicting emotions, maybe he wouldn't have been so happy when Padme had told him- "Daddy?" a little voice said behind him and he turned, looking at the eight year old brunette who was rubbing her eyes tiredly.

Anakin smiled softly and he got out of his chair, kneeling in front of her. "Yes, Princess?"

Leia looked up at him, her brown eyes showing the frustration that she wasn't telling him. "Threepio put the cups up too high…I can't get any water."

Anakin smiled and he stood up. "Alright." He turned and walked out of his work room, going into the kitchen, reaching into the cabinet and getting her some water. Leia thanked him, kissed his cheek, told him she loved him, and said goodnight before going back to her room, sipping her water as she walked. Anakin watched her walk off with a smile and he shook his head. No, his kids were worth the paradoxical emotions, no matter how tough it got. He smiled softly and he moved towards his bedroom, looking at his wife's sleeping form. Maybe going to Tatooine wouldn't be that bad and the four of them deserved a break from their hectic lives. Even if that break was on a planet that was completely covered in sand and the profitable things to do were slavery, gambling, and moisture farming. Anakin still wasn't sure how the twins would like it, they hadn't been to Tatooine in about six years, but he was sure they would find something to do. Anakin took a deep breath and he removed his shirt before slipping into the bed, where Padme snuggled up close to him in her sleep. Anakin chuckled lightly, wrapping his arm around her and stroking her hair until finally he drifted off to sleep as well.


	9. Drive

9. Drive

Luke sat in the copilot's chair of the Nubian cruiser that had become the family cruiser. Luke was spinning the copilot's chair as he stared at the ceiling with his blue eyes. "Daddy?" he asked the man in the pilot's chair, though he kept spinning the chair. "What are we going to do on Tatooine?"

Anakin raised an eyebrow and he looked over at his spinning son. "We're going to spend time with your aunt and uncle. That's the third time you've asked that question," Anakin explained before looking back at the control panel in front of him.

"Yeah…" Luke bit his lip. "But…what are we going to do? Are we going to train? Play games? Are we going to go to Mos Eisley?"

Anakin raised an eyebrow and turned to his son again. "How do you know about Mos Eisley?"

Luke paused, realizing he probably shouldn't have said anything about the place. "I don't know…" he said, shifting his blue eyes to look at the complicated control panel.

Anakin didn't look away from his son, no matter how much Luke willed him to. "You don't know. You don't know how you know about a space port you've never been to on a planet you don't remember going to?"

Luke bit his lip again, not exactly sure how to answer that, but when Anakin continued to watch him, he decided it best to just get it out and over with. "Uncle Obi-wan…may have told me about it…"

Anakin nodded slowly. "I see…and what exactly did he tell you about it?"

Luke shook his head. "Nothing much…just that he compared it to a hive, but instead of bugs there are dirty and bad people there."

Anakin chuckled lightly, shaking his head and he turned to the control panel in front of him. "And you want to go to this place?"

Luke looked down at his feet, swinging them a bit. "Well no, maybe drive by it… Uncle Obi-wan told me not to go there."

Anakin nodded, setting up the controls so that they could safely come out of hyperspace. "We'll see, Luke, okay?"

Luke nodded and looked out the front window as the bright lines of stars slowly became their own separate dots again. Hanging in front of them was a large brown orb, dark brown patches and white clouds dispersed along its surface. Luke had had experience with two different types of planets, lush and green, or completely covered in buildings. This planet looked rather…dead to Luke, and he wasn't sure if they should even land on the planet. Anakin turned back to his son and smiled softly. "Why don't you go tell your mom and Leia that we're going to be landing soon?"

Luke looked at him and he nodded a bit before he hopped out of the copilot's chair and moved to the back of the cruiser. He found them on the comfy couch, Padme reading her data pad, and by the way her brows were furrowed, it was most likely some big important republic thing. Leia was reading her own data pad, snuggled up to her mother with one arm around Ra-Na, and Luke guessed that Leia was reading another Renn Jalom story. Padme looked up from her data pad as Luke walked in and she smiled. "Hello, Luke, it's a pleasure to finally see you," she teased. Luke had spent the majority of the trip from Coruscant to Tatooine in the cock pit of the cruiser, learning what all the buttons did, and some simple math which would eventually become the large, complex math that went into flying a ship.

Luke chuckled lightly before he shook his head. "Dad says we'll be landing soon."

Leia looked up for the first time and her brown eyes turned towards her brother. "Did you see Tatooine? What does it look like?"

Luke nodded before he replied to her, "Like a dump."

"Luke," his mother warned and she shook her head. "That was very rude. I don't want to hear you talk like that when we land."

Luke bit his lip a bit, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Sorry, Mom. It really does though."

Leia rolled her eyes a bit and she sat up. "Great…" She looked up at her mother, her bottom lip coming out to form an angry pout. "I could be on Alderaan learning about politics right now. Instead I have to go out to a planet at the edge of the galaxy and spend a week there, probably getting a sun burn from-"

"Leia," Padme warned her daughter this time. "Be quiet. We're doing this so that we can spend time together as a family instead of being thrown around the universe like we seem to be quite often. I don't want to hear complaints from either of you."

"Yes, Mom," Luke and Leia said at the same time before the twins made eye contact and they rolled their eyes at the same time. Luke moved over to the couch and got settled in, feeling the ship sink through atmosphere until it bumped lightly, making contact with the ground. Anakin had let Luke try to do a lot of things that were involved with flying, under supervision of course, but he wouldn't let him try landing. Luke thought of landing on a planet would be a good milestone in his training because of it.

Anakin came out of the cockpit a few minutes later after he had turned off all systems and lowered the ramp. He gave his family a bright smile before he grabbed all of the suitcases. "Are we all ready to go?" He asked, turning to go to the ramp.

Padme smiled and she nodded before she stood up and went over to her husband, taking one of the many family suitcases. She kissed his cheek and moved down the ramp, Luke and Leia following behind her. The first thing Luke saw as he walked down the ramp was sand, lots, and lots, of sand. Then, continuing down the ramp, he saw two people standing at its base. One was a woman with ambiguously light hair that may have been either brown or blonde who had a bright, warm smile on her face as she watched the family walked down the ramp. The second was a man with very dark hair, who was also smiling, but Luke noticed that his smile didn't feel as warm as the woman's. Padme smiled and she wrapped her arms around the woman as Anakin and the man shook hands in greeting. "Beru," Padme said, giving the woman a light squeeze, "it is so good to see you again. It's been too long."

Beru smiled and hugged Padme back, slowly pulling away. "The same to you, Padme. I was so excited when we received Anakin's call," Beru said. She poked her head over the Chancellor's shoulder and her eyes widened. "Luke, Leia, is that you?" She moved away from Padme and she walked over to the twins before kneeling in front of them. "Look at the two of you, you've gotten so big!" She wrapped an arm around each of them and pulled them close to her, giving them a big squeeze. Luke grinned when he was hugged, and he wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged her back. Leia, on the other hand, seemed a bit more wary of her, and held Ra-Na close to her chest. Beru of course noticed and when she released the two children she looked at Leia and she nodded. "I know…it's been so long since you last saw me…you probably don't remember me," Beru said this with a hint of disappointment, causing Leia's face to soften, and she bit her lip guiltily. Beru smiled suddenly and she shook her head. "Now now, Leia, that look doesn't fit you. I don't blame you for not recognizing me." She held up her pointer finger to the two of them and she reached into her pockets, pulling out two pieces of individually wrapped candy. "Would you like some candy?"

Leia and Luke's eyes widened and nodded, before taking the two pieces of candy from them. Owen, their uncle, looked over and he shook his head a bit. "Don't spoil them, Beru."

Beru rolled her eyes, causing Leia to giggle, as she stood up and put her hands on her hips looking at her husband. "Owen, if I want to spoil my niece and nephew, then I am going to do it whether or not you like it."

Owen let out a light chuckle and he shook his head. "Whatever you say, Beru."

Beru smiled brightly before she walked back down the ramp and turned to the Skywalker family. "I've prepared dinner. I'm sure you are all very hungry from your trip. Let's get inside and enjoy it while it's still warm."

Anakin nodded, giving his sister-in-law a smile. "That sounds wonderful, Beru," he said simply to her, before taking the suitcases and his family inside. He showed the twins to their rooms and he led them back to the kitchen where they had a very lovely dinner supplied by Aunt Beru, and they talked about all kinds of things. Anakin and Padme informed Beru and Owen about everything that the twins were doing, and Luke and Leia would pipe up every now and then to give the juicy details about these events. After dinner, Padme and Anakin put the kids to bed, in a room that they got to share just like at home, and then the adults stayed up, had some drinks, and discussed everything from dresses to politics. After all of that, they too went to bed.

That's how the entire week went more or less. It hadn't been all that bad if Luke said so himself. Beru made sure they always had something to do, and made sure the twins were never bored. It was a perfectly acceptable vacation, not incredibly exciting, but definitely not boring. At the end of the week, Luke woke up in his temporary bed and looked over at his twin sister, who was still fast asleep. He slowly slipped out of the bed and looked over at Leia, giving her a gentle Force push. Leia grumbled before she rolled onto her stomach and stretched out her hand. Luke's eyebrows knitted together and he moved forward towards her hand, when suddenly a pillow hit him in the back of the head. "Hey!" Luke shouted, before he reached, grabbed the pillow under Leia's head with his own Force powers, and then hit her head with it. Leia squealed and then rolled out of bed before she looked at her brother. She set one foot slightly behind the other and then leapt towards him, knocking him over. Once she had him pinned down, her fingers moved down his sides and began to tickle him. Luke gasped before he started laughing and squirming, trying to get away from his sister's grasp. "L-Leia!" Luke stuttered out. "L-Leia! Stop it!"

Leia smirked down at her brother. "Never!" she declared. Their moment of fun ended suddenly when a slight tremor traveled through the Force and through both of them. Leia's brown eyes looked down at her brother before she got off him, helped him up, and moved to the door. She opened it slowly and peeked down the hall. Luke moved after her, peeking around her. Down the hall, their father stood with his back to them, arms crossed, and taking exaggerated deep breaths.

"Look, Anakin," Luke heard his Uncle Owen say from a hidden spot farther down the hall, "I'm not trying to make you upset…"

"Well then you're not doing a good job, Owen," Anakin replied, slowly uncrossing his arms, letting them hang at his sides.

"There's nothing wrong with me being concerned about my niece and nephew."

"No, you're right, Owen. You have every right to worry about them. However, they are great kids, they are not spoiled, and we are not endangering their lives!" Leia flinched a bit, though she stood strong. Luke, being the protective older (by five minutes) brother, put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"They are spoiled, Anakin! They've never done a day of work in their lives!"

"They're eight! You've never done Jedi training, and they deserve a real childhood."

"Like the one you didn't have?"

The silence that followed his uncle's question chilled Luke to the bone, even on Tatooine. He watched his father take another deep breath, appearing to calm down, though Luke noted Anakin's clenched hands at his sides. "Owen…" Anakin talked low, trying to maintain an air of calm that he obviously wasn't feeling. "I appreciate your concern for my children. However, they are my concern. They have chosen what they want to do with their lives, and Padme and I support them to the fullest. By allowing them to do it, we are not spoiling them, and we are certainly not endangering their lives. If you will excuse me." Anakin turned to walk back up the hall, causing the twins to hurriedly get back into the bedroom.

Luke took a deep breath and looked over at his sister, not needing to use the Force to know that she was fuming. He moved towards her, about to ask her what was wrong but Leia spoke first, "Uncle Owen is Bantha poodoo."

Luke's jaw nearly dropped out of his head. "Leia!" he called out, not for the first time that day, his voice in complete shock. "You used a bad word!"

"So?" she asked him, looking away and crossing her arms. "They're just words."

Luke swallowed hard, shaking his head. "Mom told us not to use bad words."

Leia rolled her eyes. "You big baby. Daddy uses it all the time." She looked towards the window in their room before walking over to it, getting up on her toes to look out it. "Daddy's been teaching you how to fly, right?"

Luke paused before he nodded and moved over to her. "Yeah…Why?"

Leia looked back at her brother, the light of the dual suns causing the malevolent twinkle in her eyes to look as bright as a star. "Think you could drive a speeder?"

Luke's eyes widened and he looked out the window, seeing their uncle's speeder hovering outside. He looked back at his sister before he started violently shaking his head. "No no no no no no no! We are not stealing Uncle Owen's speeder!"

"We're not stealing it," Leia said mildly, "we're just going to borrow it."

Luke shook his head again. "No! What do you want to do with a speeder anyway? You're just being irrational!"

Leia sighed and her shoulders fell. "You're right… besides, I bet you couldn't even drive it."

Luke's back stiffened, his mouth pinching into a line. "I can drive it, Leia, that's not the issue."

Leia shrugged a bit. "I guess we'll never know…" She turned, and started to head for the door, her head hung in defeat.

Luke took a deep breath before he rushed towards her, grabbed her arm, and then ran out the door, his sister in tow. "I'll show you what I can do!"

Leia grinned as she was pulled before she found her feet and ran after him. They managed to get out of the house without running into any adults, which to the eight year olds was an absolute miracle. They went up onto the hot, sandy surface of the planet, before turning and heading to the parked speeder, where the two twins hopped into it. Luke looked at the controls, familiarizing himself with them. A smile grew on his face once he figured it all out before he reached out and started pressing buttons and flicking switches, starting the speeder up. Then a being behind them cleared their throat. Leia jumped, turned around and said sheepishly, "Hi, Daddy."

Luke's eyes widened and he quickly turned everything off as Anakin walked through his peripheral vision. Luke looked up at his father, who raised an eyebrow as he asked, "Luke? What do you think you're doing?"

Luke sank into his chair, looking down at his feet. Leia swallowed hard and she moved to open the door. "I think I hear Mommy calling…"

"Hold up, Princess," Anakin said, raising his hand and using the Force to hold the door shut. "Do you really think that I believe that Luke came up with this plan by himself?"

Leia gnawed on her lip as she looked up at her dad. "It… wasn't really a plan…"

Anakin took a deep breath before he turned to Luke. "What do you think you're doing?" Anakin repeated, setting his hand on the speeder's side.

Luke swallowed hard and he shook his head. "Leia wanted me to," he said quietly, swinging his feet again.

Anakin nodded and he looked at Leia. "I believe that." He looked at Leia and he shook his head. "And why did you want him to do this?"

Leia bit her lip and she shook her head. "I don't know."

Anakin shook his head a bit and he walked around the speeder before he picture up his daughter, using the Force to open the door for Luke. "Fine, you don't have to tell me what you two were planning to do with a speeder. Play dumb all you want. I want you to apologize to your uncle though."

Luke slipped out of the speeder and he moved over to Anakin, bowing his head a bit. "Alright," the twins said at the same time.

Anakin chuckled softly and he patted Luke's head with his free hand before he walked in and he set Leia on the floor. He walked with them, having to pull Leia close to him when she tried to sneakily pull away and hide in her room. They found Owen inside, fixing one of his droids. Slowly he looked up and over at the Skywalkers, raising an eyebrow. "Hello…how can I help you?" Owen asked, putting down the tool he was holding

Anakin nodded and he patted the back of Luke and Leia's head. "They would like to say something to you."

Owen nodded and he turned to look at the twins, who admittedly looked incredibly guilty. "What is it you would like to tell me?"

Leia looked over at Luke, and the twins raised their heads at the same time. "We're sorry we started your speeder, Uncle Owen," they said at the same time. Luke shifted his weight from one foot to another, trying to feel less guilty.

Owen's eyes widened and he straightened up a bit. "You…started the speeder? How did you do that?"

Luke shrugged a bit and looked up at his uncle, biting his lip a bit before he gave a light shrug. "Well…the controls for a speeder aren't too different from a cruiser's. In fact, a speeder's controls are a lot similar then a cruiser."

Owen looked more confused than he did before. "How do you know how a cruiser's control panel works?"

Luke paused a moment and he said simply, "I'm learning how to fly them…Dad, Uncle Obi-wan, other Masters at the Temple. I'm going to be the best pilot someday."

Owen raised an eyebrow. "They're teaching you that already?" He shook his head and took a deep breath. "Did you take the speeder anywhere?" Luke and Leia shook their heads, causing Leia's long undone hair to whip around her shoulders. Owen sighed and he nodded before he stood up. "Well…don't do it again, at least not without my permission." He looked up at Anakin and he took a deep breath. "When are you leaving?" The question wasn't rude, just a simple question about when he should be expecting them to leave.

"In about an hour," Anakin answered simply. "Padme is packing up the rest of the twin's stuff, and as you can see, she needs to braid Leia's hair." Anakin ran a hand through Leia's hair, his fingers catching on a few knots, causing Leia to shaking her head violently to get his hand out.

Owen chuckled and he nodded a bit before he stood up. "Alright." He moved over to Anakin. "Look, about earlier…"

Anakin shook his head. "Forget about it. We both said stupid things." Anakin gave him a smile and he shook Owen's hand. Anakin looked down at Leia and he smiled. "Why don't you go find your mother to go brush and braid your hair?"

Leia looked up at him before running off. Luke looked up at his dad. "What are we going to do, Daddy?" Luke asked, biting his lip a bit.

Anakin looked down at him and shrugged. "Want to pretend to fly the cruiser?"

Luke grinned and he nodded, before running out of his uncle's house to the cruiser. Anakin moved out with him and for the next hour they pretended to fly the cruiser, and when they finished they had a tearful goodbye with their Aunt Beru, and a not-so-teary goodbye with Uncle Owen before they took off for Coruscant. After a long flight, and they landed on the city planet, Luke grinned when he looked out the view port and saw Uncle Obi-wan standing there with the red-headed Mara Jade, apparently waiting for the two of them. Mara and Obi-wan walked to the ramp, and Obi-wan was the first to be hugged by the twins, while Mara bowed politely to Anakin and Padme. They talked and discussed before they finally started walking home. Mara walked next to Luke, looking as Leia and Padme talked, and Anakin and Obi-wan talked. After a few minutes of silence, she looked over at Luke and she raised an eyebrow before she asked, "So…how was Tatooine?"

Luke gnawed on his lip a bit before he looked back at her. "Well…it wasn't all that bad…just…really sandy."

Mara nodded and she looked forward again. "I hate sand." Luke looked at her for a few moments before he burst into laughter which surprised Mara. "What?"

"Nothing," He told her through his laughter, trying to calm down. "Nothing… just… that's basically all of Tatooine."

Mara Jade then shared in his laughter. "Well, I guess I'll never go to Tatooine with you."

Luke grinned and he shook his head a bit. "Hopefully you'll never have to go!" He grabbed Mara suddenly and he messed up her hair. Mara screamed and she tried to get away. Luke eventually let her go, and suddenly he was tackled and pinned to the sidewalk. "No! Not this again!" Luke screamed and suddenly he was being tickled all over again.


	10. Breathe Again

10. Breathe Again

The sound of a scream was enough to wake Tuan We from sleep. She rose from her bed, walking serenely to the door what connected her room with one of the clone rooms. She opened the door and tilted her head as she asked calmly. "Palthru, are you alright?"

Palthru stood in the middle of the brightly lit room, blinking his blue eyes a bit, running his fingers through his short red hair. "Mm…yes, Tuan We." He took a deep breath and he turned to look at the mirror hanging on the wall. He ran a hand over the fiery red hair, and then looked over his body. He looked to be about sixteen, maybe seventeen, and apparently Palthru was happy with the body he saw.

Tuan We paused and she moved over. "Palthru, are you sure you are feeling well?"

The blue eyes turned and looked up at her. "You can stop calling me Palthru, Tuan We. That is no longer my name."

Understanding came cross Tuan We's features and she nodded. "Emperor Palpatine…it is good to see you again. Palthru had been complaining of nightmares the last few nights, I thought you might be joining us soon."

Palpatine, who was also known as Darth Sidious, smiled up at her and nodded. "And the same to you, Tuan We. This clone seems to be in prime condition, your people do very good work."

Tuan We gave a light smile and she bowed. "Thank you, Emperor Palpatine. The funding we receive from you makes it more than worth it to give you the very best."

Palpatine flexed his muscles and he nodded. "I haven't felt this young in a very long time, I assure you." He turned quickly to her and he folded his hands in front of him, smiling up at her. "I need some new clothes, and a ship."

Tuan We nodded and she gave him another bow. "Of course. I will go get your clothes and I will request a ship. When would you be leaving?"

"As soon as possible," He said curtly, pulling on the sleeves on the one-piece outfit he was wearing. He watched as Tuan We left to go gather his things before he turned back to the mirror. "Mm…" A light smirk settled on his lips. "It is good to be back."


	11. Memories

11. Memory

Obi-wan Kenobi sat comfortably in one of the many meditation chambers in the Jedi temple, leaned back in the very comfortable seat, with his eyes closed and he tried his best to meditate. His mind had been racing quite a bit as of late, his mind thinking of all the things that had happened in the last few years, and trying to figure out how they could all possibly have come to be. Other Jedi, most notably one Anakin Skywalker, had been telling him that he shouldn't think so much about it that he should just accept everything that had happened the last few years as something wonderful that happened. He couldn't really though, as much as he wanted too. Obi-wan rarely didn't think about things, and it made him a very good Jedi, who would research things that no one would think to research. Of course, his thinking of the past would sometimes make him stop being in the present. Right now was a great example, as Obi-wan almost jumped out of his own skin as a voice said, "You're thinking again aren't you?"

Obi-wan opened his eyes and looked towards the door of the meditation room, where his old Padawan stood, leaning against the door frame as if he was king of the galaxy. "And what if I am?" Obi-wan asked Anakin. The question caused a smirk to appear on the cocky one's face, and he pushed himself up, walking over to the Jedi Master.

"You shouldn't think so much," Anakin said simply, sitting down cross-legged in front of the chair. "You could get a lot more done if you did."

"What? Like getting my arm sliced off?" The words sounded harsher then he had meant them, and Obi-wan could immediately see the harshness of the words on Anakin's face. Obi-wan sighed and took a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry, Anakin, I didn't mean it like that."

"It's fine, Master," Anakin said genuinely, though now he looked at Obi-wan with concern. "You could tell me what is wrong…"

Obi-wan looked at him and he paused a moment before he shook his head. "Nothing's wrong." He looked back at Anakin's skeptical glance and he shook his head. "Really, Anakin, I'm fine. You don't have to act so worried about me. I'm older then you, I can take care of myself."

"So you do admit something's wrong." Anakin leaned forward, setting his forearms onto his knees. The position didn't look incredibly comfortable to Obi-wan, but Anakin seemed to like things that Obi-wan wouldn't be comfortable with.

"Except that nothing's wrong," Obi-wan said, leaning back in his chair again. "I think I said that more than once already." He took a glance at Anakin. "And I know that look means, 'I'm not going to drop this until you tell me' and since there is nothing to tell you, you might as well stop."

Anakin took a deep sigh and he leaned back from his knees, shaking his head. "Fine," he said, shaking his head. "Fine, you're too stubborn to get any information out of anyways."

Obi-wan smirked and he nodded. "Of course," he said, bridging his fingers a bit and he said. "There's nothing wrong with me thinking through on things."

Anakin shook his head "No, of course not, absolutely nothing wrong…except it doesn't allow you to use the Force as efficiently."

Obi-wan's eyes narrowed and he shook his head. "Right, of course…that's why I'm the master and you aren't." He leaned back, bridging his fingers. "I'm plenty good with the Force, I allow myself to be…directed by the Force, but I don't let it control me, unlike some people I know." He said, giving a pointed looked towards his old Padawan.

Anakin grinned and he nodded. "Of course." None of Obi-wan's words harmed Anakin, they had known each other long enough that they knew how to get under the other's skin, but also knew when they were just teasing, and that the comments should just be shrugged off. Anakin stood up, and he looked towards him. "Padme wishes for us to have dinner at the apartment. She asked me to ask you to join us."

Obi-wan smiled softly and he nodded, standing up. "That sounds wonderful." He smoothed down his clothes and he looked back at Obi-wan. "Are the twins not home right now?"

Anakin took a pause, the smile on his face faded and he shook his head. "No…Leia's on Alderaan, and Luke is staying here at the temple tonight…" His words had an edge of bitterness to them that Obi-wan couldn't help but note.

"Anakin?" Obi-wan asked, tilting his head slightly. "Are you alright?"

Anakin took a deep breath and he nodded a bit. "Yes, I am fine…I just…wish my children were home more often."

A faint smile appeared on Obi-wan's face and he nodded, patting Anakin's shoulder. "I understand, Anakin. You shouldn't be so upset about it, though. These are great opportunities for both Luke and Leia. I'm sure it will help them along later in life, when they're adults and needing to be on their own."

Anakin's face twitched unhappily and he shook his head. "That's why I'm planning on having them not grow up. They're going to stay nine the rest of their lives."

Obi-wan chuckled and he patted Anakin's shoulder again. "You just try that, Anakin. You should tell me how that works out for you." Anakin smiled and he gave a light chuckle before he turned towards the door of the meditation room and walking out of it. Obi-wan smiled as he heard him laugh and he followed after him, not wanting to get left behind. The Jedi Master walked in silence for a moment and he turned to Anakin. "I seem to remember a young nine year old growing up into an adult. I remember that being fairly traumatic."

A laugh came out of the younger Jedi, turning towards the older male. "Oh really, Old Man? I thought you would have enjoyed not having to chase after me anymore."

Obi-wan shook his head. "Don't get me wrong, I was, and still am, very proud when you passed your Jedi test. It didn't change the fact that that meant that you were getting older, and I was getting older, and that things were changing, and that the good times of the past were just memories now."

There was a pause between the two of them. Anakin finally broke the odd silence and he looked up at Obi-wan. "You can relive those through Luke now though, right? Tell him what to do and not to do, making sure he doesn't hurt himself…"

Obi-wan gave another smile and he nodded. "Yes, and you will be able to relive through your grandchildren, assuming that Luke and Leia have grandchildren."

There was another pause, and once again Anakin broke it. "It wouldn't be the same though…watching grandchildren wouldn't be the same as raising my own."

"Exactly," was all Obi-wan replied with, and the silence between them was then allowed to grow. After they were almost to the apartment, Anakin took a deep breath and let out a sigh, causing Obi-wan to look at him.

"Is it always this hard?" the younger Jedi asked. "Going through life, looking back on it, looking back at the mistakes in your life and wondering how you could have done differently?"

Obi-wan took a moment to pause and he shook his head. "No…no… I hear eventually you learn to stop focusing on the things that went wrong, and you focus on what you did right. We should both stop thinking of time that has passed, however, we both have plenty of life ahead of us."

A laugh erupted from Anakin, causing Obi-wan to jump a bit, but then he joined him in the laugh, though not really knowing what was so funny about his comment, he just laughed for the sake of laughing. Anakin never did explain why he had laughed, and the two walked in almost complete silence for the rest of the way to the apartment, though their silence was more companionable instead of awkward now. They walked onto the lift, and took it straight up to the pent house apartment. When the lift doors opened, Obi-wan could instantly feel that something was wrong. Padme was standing in front of it, her hands folded in front of her, and a worried look on her face. Anakin moved over, obvious concern for his wife showing on his face, and he grabbed her arms, giving them each a light squeeze. "Padme?" he asked her gently, "what's wrong?"

The brunette bit her lip a bit and she rubbed her arms. "Hello, Obi-wan," she greeted, though there was no light in her voice. Obi-wan gave her a nod, honestly impressed by her ability to stay poised and polite while looking that upset. She took a deep breath and she looked at Anakin, shaking her head a bit. "It's probably nothing… Master Yoda called a few minutes ago… he wishes to talk to the two of you… apparently Darth Sidious has been sighted."

The air in the room seemed to suddenly get cold, and Obi-wan shook his head. "That's impossible," he said simply, "Sidious is dead…"

Anakin took a deep breath and he nodded. "I know…I watched him fall…" Anakin said simply, crossing his arms, and running a hand over his face. "I'll go call Master Yoda…"

Obi-wan watched as Anakin walked off into Padme's office, where he could speak with the Master Jedi alone. Obi-wan would get a chance later to speak with him. He drifted off for now, however, lost in his own thoughts, until Padme startled him out of them. "Obi-wan?" Padme asked, "A credit for your thoughts?"

Obi-wan looked at her and he shook his head. "It is really nothing, Padme…" he said simply, "I am just thinking about how some memories don't stay memories…even though they probably should…"


End file.
